By Tony Yon

Over the past several days, I have been reflecting deeply upon the concept of truth. I remember an old saying that, “those who do not stand for the truth, will continually fall for a lie.” Isn’t that the result of what we are witnessing in our society today? That truth is no longer absolute, but has rather become subjective to everyone’s individual interpretation. Remember, even Pontius Pilate asked Jesus, “what is truth?”

As we draw closer to Election Day, Nov. 5, we find ourselves bombarded with media reports and political campaign ads that have morphed beyond “spin,” and are now just outright lies based upon conjecture and statements taken out of context. Remember the endless Russia, Russia, Russia hoax from Hillary’s campaign and the mainstream media? How about President Trump’s statements taken out of context regarding Jan. 6 and Charlottesville? Or, how about the 51 intel officials who told us that Hunter Biden’s laptop was Russian disinformation. Of course, more recently, how about Kamala continually telling us that Joe was “sharp as a tack.” As we know by now, all of the above referenced statements were nothing more than lies. Marxist socialists such as Vladimir Lenin and Saul Alinsky both ascribed to the theory that if you repeat a lie often enough, people will begin to believe it as the truth.

Henceforth, the problem. Maybe you are like me. I no longer trust the mainstream media to ferret out and report the truth.

I can remember my mother often saying that “a lie will travel three times around the block, before the truth can make it out the front door.” And that is exactly what many in the mainstream media and the political arena count on. By the time the truth becomes fully known, the outcome has already been decided. I also remember the words of my company commander spoken the night before our graduation from basic training. In typical salty language, he asked, “When you arrive at your duty station, do you know how you can tell who is the worst SOB there is?” We all said, “No, how?” He replied, “He will be the first one to come to you and tell you that so-and-so is a SOB.” These simple words of wisdom have served me well throughout my life, both personally and professionally. It’s been my experience that many times, the one pointing a finger at another, is guilty of what he/she is accusing the other of.

As a retired sheriff’s investigator, there were times that I initially believed a suspect to be innocent upon my first interview with him/her. However, after interviewing other people, and gathering all available evidence, I found that was not the case. Such was the believability of their lie. I learned early on to wait until everyone concerned was interviewed, and all evidence collected, before a determination of guilt was established.

This brings me to the most recent accusations against Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson and his campaign for governor. I have met and spoken with the lieutenant governor at least half a dozen times over the past few years. In my opinion, these accusations simply don’t fit the character of the man I know as Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson. While I am not denying the possibility of these accusations being true, I am saying that due to the past history of the mainstream media and opposing political campaigns, I am willing to give Lt. Gov. Robinson the benefit of the doubt, until there is proof otherwise, beyond a reasonable doubt.

Indeed, I just read a report from a cybersecurity expert who stated that a decades old internet activity (such as this claim) can be easily fabricated.

In closing, I am reminded of one of the many training classes I attended as an investigator in which the topic was that of counterfeit money. The instructor spoke about how the Secret Service trained to spot counterfeit money. They do so by thoroughly examining a true original bill. He went on to say, that when you know and can recognize the true original, a counterfeit is easy to spot. This example is never more true than it is today. We as a civil society must always strive for and demand truth, in every aspect of our lives. But remember, it begins with each of us individually. Such were the words of William Shakespeare in Hamlet; “this above all (else), to thine own self be true.”

Tony Yon is chairman of the Rowan County Republican Party.