Let's review 'The Death of Truth.'

This book by Michiko Kakutani is fascinating.

Aug 20, 2025

I finished reading "The Death of Truth," by Michiko Kakutani, which is an interesting book. Yet, the book left me wanting because it did not fully explore this fascinating topic.

In this post, I will pick up quotes from the book and share them. Now, let's move on. On the positive side, she left us with a treasure trove of material to do further research. You can read my review by clicking this link, and if you are an Indian, you can explore the book by clicking my Amazon India affiliate link.

Jesus Christ Superstar. The trial before Pilate

Before you proceed further, I'd like you to click this YouTube link, which takes you to the Trial before Pilate. At 1:40 minutes through the clip, Pilate asks Jesus the following questions:

And what is truth?
Is truth unchanging law?
We both have truths,
Is mine the same as yours?

Michiko did not discuss Edward Bernays.

Michiko Kakutani missed an opportunity to create a magnificent study on the death of truth. She, the author, also missed the chance to discuss Edward Bernays.

On the positive side, the book contains enough reference material for those wishing to explore the subject further.

I will write about this topic on my site at Medium, and that may be a more detailed, if disorganized, article.

For now, I will focus on Pontius Pilate and his questions.

Is truth indeed an unchanging law?

Is truth an unchanging law? When I read a book about the 1962 war with China, the author mentioned an incident when, in the mountains, a regiment of Dalit Sikhs refused to help a regiment of upper-caste Sikhs, or the other way around.

When I read about this incident, I realized – with a shock – that caste and other divisions can be a national security problem, one that any canny enemy general will exploit with glee.

The Sikhs.

Yet, when Guru Nanak founded the Sikh faith, he created a religion that smashed caste boundaries. Guru Nanak created the concept of the 'langar,' which is a community kitchen where the Sikh volunteers serve everyone irrespective of caste, creed, or religion. Everyone sits on the ground together, and there is no discrimination against anyone. The rich do not get cushions to sit on.

This practice, of a casteless religion, continued until approximately half a century after the death of Guru Gobind Singh, the tenth and last Guru. He then abolished the creed of the living Guru and declared that the holy book of the Sikhs, the Guru Granth Sahib, is the eternal Guru.

People seek leaders. People seek charismatic people to follow, and about fifty years after Guru Gobind Singh's death, Hindu practices infiltrated the Sikh religion, introducing casteism.

Even though I had read about the 1962 war, the presence of casteism in the Sikh faith did not bother me until a Sikh friend told me that Dalit Sikhs have separate gurudwaras. This news shocked me, and I wonder if Sikh society permits Dalit Sikhs to enter the Harminder Sahib Gurudwara.

I will be disappointed if they are not permitted to enter the Harminder Sahib because Mian Mir, a Sufi saint, laid the foundation for the gurudwara.

Let us return to Pontius Pilate. Is truth then an unchanging law? Every Sikh Guru preached and practiced equality and non-discrimination. Yet, a century after Guru Nanak's passing, discrimination has become commonplace.

The original tenets of the Sikh faith have not changed, yet the practices of the law have changed.

When India became an independent nation, after the absolute horror of the Partition, the first leaders, including Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, conceived of a secular state; the current leadership wishes to create an almost theocratic, intolerant, Hindu state. If they succeed, will 'truth' remain an unchanging law?

Is your truth the same as mine?

Pontius Pilate then asked a pertinent question. 'We both have truths/ Is mine the same as yours?'

Many people in the world consider the Israelis to be cruel, sadistic people. They consider themselves to be 'God's chosen people.' Which truth is the absolute truth?

I am not a religious scholar, and am a proud atheist. Yet, I read bits and pieces about religion because – apart from sex and politics – religion is one of the most powerful forces that drives human beings. To my knowledge, no religion preaches discrimination, intolerance, violence, greed, exploiting nature, or any sort of disharmony.

Yet, I've heard many Christians talk of 'the one true God, whose son is Jesus Christ.' Israelis claim that Jews are god's chosen people, but won't be able to prove their claim in a court of law. In India, we are reducing the pantheon of gods to one – Shri Ram, who is only one of the ten avatars of Vishnu!

When I dispute these claims, I discover many hidden enemies. People's faces flush with anger, their body temperatures rise, and the gentlest souls I know threaten me with bodily and other harm.

In their world, I am a misguided fool whose only desire is to spread lies, misinformation, and disinformation.

'We both have truths/ Is mine the same as yours?'

Michiko Kakutani does not dive into these arcane discussions because, at one level, such talks are pointless and lead nowhere. Yet, because we cannot perceive another person's viewpoint and remain adamant in proving our righteousness, we often create conflict. I forget who wrote 'The Better Angels of our Nature." The author's premise was that we now live in peaceful times, and I rated the book as being a compilation of naivety, misplaced optimism, substandard research, and utter balderdash.

There's a book I have my eyes on, "The Fort Bragg Conspiracy," which demonstrates (as per the blurb) that a covert, invisible group of business people drives conflict to gain power, influence, and wealth.

It is now time to stop traveling on my tangential path and return to the main topic of this post.

Michiko Kakutani could have done better.

Michiko Kakutani and, at one level, this omission is a shame because she could have explored the occult motives behind the conflict that rules society. The premise of her book is simple, and perhaps her approach is practical because we live in a world where data overwhelms us, making it nearly impossible for most of us to think critically, analyze, and draw conclusions. We seek simplicity, which is the reason why the RSS/BJP and the Hindutva brigade are reducing the subtlety of the Hindu faith to one symbol – Jai Shri Ram.

The author quoted Donald Trump, extracting a quote from his book, 'Think Big.' Trump wrote (or ghostwrote,

The world is a horrible place. Lions kill for food, but people kill for sport…. The same burning greed that makes people loot, kill, and steal in emergencies like fires and floods, operates daily in normal everyday people. It lurks beneath the surface, and when you least expect it, it rears its nasty head and bites you. Accept it. The world is a brutal place. People will annihilate you just for the fun of it or to show off to their friends.'

The name of the game is simple. 'Power, money, influence.' To gain these three, you will do anything – lie, manipulate, kill, employ trolls, create alternative universes, spread disinformation, misinformation, and sow confusion and conflict.

We can dissect common lies.

These lies, or truths, are easy to dissect if you allow yourself the freedom to pause, think, and respond. Most of us react to stimuli, but do not permit ourselves that moment of freedom.

If Donald Trump, or Narendra Modi, or Meloni, or Starmer, or Putin, or Zelensky, or Xi Jinping, etc., claim that they climbed Mount Everest in winter, blindfolded, and without oxygen supplies or mountaineering gear, it will be simple to prove they are lying.

When American politicians claim that Iran is a nuclear danger, clear-headed analysis will prove that they are lying. Data will show that America is the most aggressive country on the planet, yet skillful propaganda twists people's emotions and minds.

What, then, is the truth that people should believe? When those whom you should trust to lead you, and improve your lives, lie (and we can dispute their lies with data), then what do you believe?

Michiko Kakutani titled her book,' 'The Death of Truth". Did truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth ever exist?