Editor's note: The original version of this column was published Sept. 9, 2014.

In the continual state of conflict that has become our national psyche, suppose we can agree on a few truths as reasonable adults?

For instance, can we agree that honesty is fundamental to any meaningful relationships we form in this lifetime? That lying to each other is a negative trait?

Might we also agree that greed and self-seeking at the expense of others are equally negative qualities that always prove detrimental to relationships?

How about the fact that without gaining trust in another person's words and actions, respect can't help but dissolve into destructive suspicion and loss of respect? How can you trust someone who's proven himself to be unreliable?

Without these crucial aspects of shared human behavior, how does the very fabric of any society keep from unraveling? Put another way: How can the center of positive human associations possibly hold, lacking a core of mutual honesty and trust?

Some would call these eternal spiritual truths intended to guide our lives from even before birth. Philosophers call this a priori knowledge.

That being the case, it's no mystery that as the numbers of lies, exaggerations, self-serving agendas as well as levels of........

© Arkansas Online