(Lima, Peru) – Twenty five years ago this week, political thought leaders from all over the world gathered in Lima, Peru to discuss some of the most basic, yet profoundly important questions of our times. 

The gathering was a political philosophical convention named “Pensu pri ĝi,” (English:”Think About It”) that meets every few years at various locations around the globe. In order to allow all participants to be equally understood, the official language of the convention is Esperanto. However, since only a handful of the participants are typically fluent Esperanto speakers, most of the communication is accomplished through white board drawings and emphatic gestures.

Twenty five years ago, the convention focused on three essential political questions: “What is a lie?”, “What is a fact?”, and “What is truth?”.

The participants in the “What is a lie?” sessions came to the conclusion that a lie is a statement of truth or falsehood intended to deceive.

The participants in the “What is a fact?” sessions came to the conclusion that a fact is a statement that can either be verified, cannot be convincingly refuted, or that is assumed by one or more persons to be one of truth or falsehood without the expectation of  verification.

The participants in the “What is Truth?” sessions came to the conclusion that truth is something that exists independent of reason, observation, or verification.

On the last day of the convention, an unidentified man from Oklahoma famously stood up and said, “Komunikaĵo de fakto kiu ne povas esti konfirmita, kaj kiuj ne parolis kun la intenco trompi, kaj kiu defias kialo, ĝi devas esti vera.” 

Since only two others at the convention understood what he said, he repeated in English, “We have concluded that a statement of fact that cannot be verified, and which cannot be proven to have been spoken with the intention to deceive, and which defies reason, must be truth.”

Thus, twenty-five years ago this week, the seed was planted for American politics in 2017.

Now you know the rest of the story.