The 4th Trust: I will speak the truth at all times and forever keep my word.

The 4th Trust: I will speak the truth at all times and forever keep my word.

It is a sad commentary of our times when honesty and truth are projected as noble aspirations rather than the commonplace values that they should be. One of the important goals of Chivalry-Now is to reverse that trend.

After all, what good is our ability to reason without supporting it with a sensible respect for what is true?

What good is freedom if it is wasted on lies and illusions and the dictates of ego?

How can we call ourselves a moral people if our values are guided by what is false?

We certainly can’t think of ourselves as Knights, or warriors of light, or people of integrity, if we fail to honor truth in our lives. The future of humanity depends on it.

To reclaim this vital focus, from which the very best of Western culture was derived, we need to know what holds us back. We are surrounded by deceptive advertising, dishonesty in politics, hypocrisy shadowing every ideal, religious leaders reversing their central moral tenets. Greed has changed everything, including our perception of what is true.

How can we be Knights if our word is not held sacrosanct? Or we refuse to let go of prejudices? How can we be Knights if our attitude toward truth makes us untrustworthy? What good are commitments made that we are not fulfilled? How can we be sure of the rightness of our cause, or avoid terrible mistakes? We become the very problem that we sought to change.

Without truth, we offer nothing different from those who lead people astray. Our talk of virtue becomes questionable. Our mission a farce.

Today’s Knight must be known for his or her honesty and fairness, or knighthood itself becomes meaningless.