Be careful when you hear someone say “I’m just telling it like it is.”
This is a shrouded sentence, a hedge to hind behind.
They’re incorrectly inferring there is a singular truth and that they are the brave one who is willing to utter that truth, even if it’s hard to hear.
But, as we’re learning all too well in this decade, when we’re in conversation with friends, or acquaintances or strangers, there is rarely just one truth. There seem to be multiple truths, whether uttered or not.
(We used to call them opinions.)
So, the next time you hear someone say “I just tell it like is” realize what they’re actually saying is this:
“I share my opinions freely, without worry of their impact.”
I don’t see this as brave. It sounds pretty easy actually, like tossing trash on the side of the road or like spitting on the sidewalk.
Congrats on having phlegm.
It’s not courageous if you don’t care about the consequences. It’s courageous if you do.
Bravery is following the line from your words to the lives of others and then accepting what you see there.
That’s the real truth.
The only truth that matters.