{"code":"truth","subroute":"truth","title":"Truth and Lies","collection_type":"theme","header_1":"Truth and Lies","header_2":"The struggle between honesty and convenience.","description":"A collection of short stories on the consequence of lying. Read or download. Confessions of a humorist by O. Henry, The Man that Corrupted Hadleyburg by Mark Twain.","has_text":true,"quote":{"quote":"“But you cannot kill truth.” * The Blood of the Martyrs","code":"the-blood-of-the-martyrs"},"image":true,"image_alt":"A sketch of pair of broken glasses and an ink stain","image_filter":"contrast(1.5)","image_title":"The Blood of the Martyrs - Sketch","image_code":"the-blood-of-the-martyrs","stories":[{"story":"the-man-that-corrupted-hadleyburg","description":"What is honesty if untested? Can we really know what we are willing to say before we are tempted with great opportunity to gain from deceit? A man can grow a naïve pride in his own integrity if he has had neither the pressure nor the temptation to twist his tongue in service of a lie.\n*In The Corruption of Hadleyburg*, a town known for being full of honest men and women crumbles when the citizens wake up to letters promising them thousands of dollars on the condition that they betray their neighbours. It is an investigation into the hubris of those with good reputations of honesty that are yet to be proven."},{"story":"a-reputation","description":"How important is a man’s word? What is he willing to do in order to follow through on his promises? Throughout history,  people have been willing to kill and die for their reputation. Whether it be through duels, ritual suicide or war, much violence has sprouted from simple words of honour.\n*The Reputation* shows how desperate we are for the approval of our peers, and of how what our peers approve of isn’t always what is best for us. It follows are man who, in the spurn of the moment, makes a dramatic promise that lands him on the front cover of the news."},{"story":"the-blood-of-the-martyrs","description":"What kind of strength does it take to speak truth to power when your life is on the line? What can motivate a man to make the ultimate sacrifice in the name of truth?  Is it the bravery that will put a soldier on the battlefield and a firefighter into a burning building? Or is it ambition, guilt, love or even something deeper than any emotion?\n*The Blood of the Martyrs* gives us an unlikely hero, bespectacled and old. But one with as much heroic defiance as the swashbuckling prince or rogue."},{"story":"anathema","description":"It is one thing to speak out against others, and another to stand up for them. When others pile on hatred, it is easy to slip into line and join the rabble. The slightest hesitation in these situations can create enemies as fast as open defiance. But sometimes a little voice in our head prevents us from joining in with the crowd.\n*Anathema* shows a priest following the rite of anathema, a process of shunning those who have fallen afoul of the Orthodox church. But when the priest is told to denounce a man whom he admires, he hesitates."}]}