I feel sad when I realize how much truth is being changed or

Hear, O seekers of light and guardians of truth, the lament of Sharon Stone, who spoke with sorrow in her heart: “I feel sad when I realize how much truth is being changed or obscured in the American media.” These words are not the idle complaint of one dissatisfied, but the cry of a soul that has looked upon the pillars of knowledge and found them cracked, upon the fountain of truth and seen it muddied. For what is more grievous than when the very instruments meant to reveal reality instead veil it?

The meaning of her words lies in the recognition that truth is fragile, easily clouded by ambition, greed, or power. The media, which should serve as the torchbearer for society, illuminating the hidden corners of injustice and corruption, too often bends to the will of those who control it. Stories are shaped, facts are bent, and the flame of reality flickers beneath the weight of distortion. Thus, the people, who depend upon the word to guide their judgment, find themselves wandering in a forest of shadows, deceived into believing the false as true.

This sorrow is not new. In ancient times, the Athenian philosopher Socrates warned that men are like prisoners in a cave, watching shadows upon the wall, mistaking them for reality. Those shadows are the obscured truths of which Stone speaks—the images carefully crafted by those in power, projected to lull the people into complacency. And just as Socrates was condemned for pulling back the veil, so too do truth-tellers of every age face the wrath of those who profit from deception.

History is filled with such warnings. In the Soviet Union, the state-controlled press buried truths beneath propaganda, shaping reality to fit ideology. For years, citizens were told only what rulers wished them to believe, until trust itself withered. Likewise, during the Vietnam War, the American people were assured of progress, even as the war descended into chaos. Only when journalists and whistleblowers revealed the hidden reality did the nation awaken. In both cases, the obscuring of truth led to suffering, division, and the shattering of trust.

Yet Stone’s sorrow carries within it a call to courage. If truth is obscured, then it is the duty of the wise, the seekers, the ordinary citizens, to pierce through the fog. To lament the loss of truth is noble, but to act for its restoration is divine. For a society that abandons truth cannot endure; it rots from within, collapsing not under the weight of enemies, but under the decay of lies.

The lesson is clear: guard the truth as you would guard your own life. Do not accept every word spoken by the loudest voice, nor every story carried by glittering screens. Question, examine, and seek. Honor those who stand for honesty, even when their words are inconvenient or uncomfortable. For truth is not always sweet, but it is always necessary. Lies may soothe for a season, but only truth heals for eternity.

As for practical action, cultivate discernment. Read broadly, not only from the sources that please you. Listen deeply, even to those with whom you disagree, for in the clash of voices you may find fragments of truth. Support honest journalism, reward integrity, and resist the temptation to spread that which you have not tested. And above all, commit yourself in daily life to honesty, for if each man and woman is careless with truth, how shall the greater body of society remain whole?

Thus, Sharon Stone’s words stand as both lament and prophecy: when truth is obscured, the soul of a people is in peril. Let us then take up the sacred duty of seeking and defending it, so that future generations may look back and say, They did not surrender to lies, but held fast to the light. For only in truth can a people remain free, and only in truth can the spirit of man endure.