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January 2024

The Power of Words

               U. S. A.                     Russian Federation

  


   

“Trust but verify.” During his term as President, Ronald Reagan often used this axiom when discussing nuclear disarmament with Russia. At face value, it is simple enough to understand. But Reagan was undoubtedly not the first politician to use this adage.

History tells us Vladimir Lenin, speaking in 1914 while spouting the wonders of communism said, “Put no faith in words; subject everything to the closest scrutiny,” roughly translated to mean “Доверяй, но проверяй.” “Trust. but Verify.”

Research into Russian leadership reveals their Czars and politicians quoting proverbs for centuries to support their history, culture, and morals.

There is power in the spoken or written word. Nevertheless, can we find the original statement from whence the politicians of old and more recent times have drawn their charge?

Yes, we can. From the Torah to the Bible, from Moscow to Washington, the wisdom of political leaders appears to have one root to the charge, “Trust but Verify.” We can look to Jeremiah 9:8 in the Torah, which forbids wrongdoing in such matters, “One speaketh peaceably to his neighbor with his mouth, but in his heart, he layeth his wait for him.” 




Moving into the early days of Christianity in the King James Version of the Holy Bible, 1 Thessalonians 5: 21-22, “Prove all things; hold fast that which is good. Abstain from all appearance of evil.” Or, in the New American Bible, 1 Thessalonians 5: 21-22, “Test everything; retain what is good. Avoid any semblance of evil.”



We encourage you to trust whichever suits your purpose but verify it before you enter into a contract, treaty, etc.

BUT, jumping from sacred scripture to the rules of our English language, we find an “exception” that can change the simple little challenge of “trust but verify.” The word “but,’ is one of the many exceptions in our daily language. But is a conjunction and is also identified as an “erasure” word. What does that mean? Simple enough. But between the two verbs is eliminated. Therefore, the “Trust but Verify” axiom becomes two separate but related commands. “Trust. But only after verification.”

Pictured below is a moment frozen in time when Planning and Research Sgt. Thomas Nichols was bewildered about solving the case of the Eco-raiders. It was a question of who was telling the truth versus who was setting up a smoke screen. Who to trust? Only more research and validation of the competing evidence could provide the truth.  


 

Oh, the power of words--their use and misuse over the centuries is here, but I shall continue to “Trust but Verify.” Speaking of which, you can trust the remarkable reviews you will see on my Amazon page.

Please join me at www.amazon.com/Thomas-J.-Nichols/e/B00BD861OM  and at                 

             www.thomasjnichols.com/, and HTTPS://Twitter.com/Tomas0274/

 

 

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