The Four Freedoms: Title

Introduction To the reader, This book is written with the assertion that we must agree on two things: that truth exists independently of any opinion or belief; and that we have the ability to know what truth is and to know that we know it. Without making those concessions, for which supporting material will follow, there is little point in your continuing. For one who cannot believe that they can know the truth seems to me to be without hope destined to wander frustrated and aimless through life. A third, albeit less rigid assertion, is that you are interested in knowing truth. It has been my sad experience that people take comfort in their particular view of the world. Therefore some, embroiled in selfjustification, carefully and deliberately avoid the discomfort that frequently accompanies broadening one’s mind, expanding one’s horizons, and embracing views that might mandate a change in lifestyle, belief or value system. There is nothing in these pages for such persons. I write for those who are willing to seize the truth, because their integrity is such that they would not allow themselves to go on living a lie once it has been discovered. These lies are, for the most part, the lies we tell ourselves—the mistaken perceptions, ideologies and perspectives on which we sell ourselves—in order to allow us to live the way we do. This is a story about a man who makes just such a discovery and the difference it makes in his life. While the details of the story and the characters are fictional, the lessons in the story are, I assure you, quite real. It is my hope that your reading may awaken That Something in you and propel you toward very real possibilities that you never before imagined. The truth is incontrovertible. Malice may attack it. Ignorance may deride it. But in the end, there it is. —Winston Churchill