More often than not, facts and truth are not mutually exclusive. Facts are those bits of information which on their own are true, while the truth is our interpretation of those facts (including some truths). It is how we remember facts that our brains use to construct the truth.
Case in point, in this episode of Planet Money, the podcast talked about how many veterans tended to dislike the Red Cross. Their dislike originated from donuts, and the fact the Red Cross charged said veterans for them during World War 2. On the surface, this seems outrageous. How could such a benevolent organization charge the very people fighting for our freedom, during the largest war in history, for donuts? The short of it is the Red Cross was forced to charge for the donuts and I recommend you listen. But this is not the case-in-point about the often dichotomy of facts and truth.
First, context. Yes, when the US joined the second World War in late 1941 and early 1942, the Red Cross provided US soldiers with various stations across the battlefield to help with the cause. These stations included services like barbers, telephones, etc. They also included free donuts and coffee. These services were only for American soldiers, however, whom from the perspective of the allies, were late to the party. And worse, those other allies had to pay for the services the Red Cross provided American soldiers for free.
To help with moral amongst the allies, the secretary of war requested the Red Cross charge 2 cents for the donuts. This did not go down well with the fighting men of the US. And if you were a WW2 veteran, then you would be right to dislike the Red Cross. However, this dislike is not exclusive to said veterans, it’s shared across veterans from conflicts thereafter who would have never experienced this in the first place; hence our construction of truth with pieces of facts and the truths of others.
It’s a great episode, I recommend you listen.
