It’s the truth. Or, maybe it’s not.

How can one really know what the truth is if everyone sees their own truths differently? The truth doesn’t exist in the way humans want it to. Rather, there are facts. As each person sees facts in their own way, they formulate their version of the truth. Some truths might be more similar than others, but because of the variation in what everyone believes to be true, the truth is individualistic.

Truth is difficult to define. The dictionary definition of truth includes “a verified or indisputable fact, proposition, principle, or the like,” “an actuality or actual existence,” and “an obvious or accepted fact.” One doesn’t have to look further than the world of politics to see that what politicians consider the “truth” doesn’t conform to these definitions. How much time do politicians spend disputing how truthful their opponent is? How many campaign commercials on television blast the word “LIES” and phrases like “[candidate] ISN’T TELLING THE TRUTH” across the screen in bold letters?

A Trump campaign attack on Hillary Clinton, calling her a liar so as to drum up support in favor of Trump.

Another political campaign to drive voters away from the alleged “liar” and towards a different candidate.

Rival candidates could be speaking about the same event or issue and say two completely different things about it. But they believe that their viewpoint is the truth, because that’s their take on the situation and that’s how they understand it. Therefore, it’s challenging to say whether or not the truth really can exist.

A fact can exist because it’s reality and there’s no argument, but truth and fact are not the same thing. Of course, there are also universal truths, meaning that these truths apply to all people. For example, evolution would be considered a universal truth because it occurs on its own and there’s no disputing whether or not evolution is real. Humans are living proof that evolution is real. We did not just get here on our own, we evolved and adapted to our surroundings in order to become the most civilized animal on the planet.

A square can be a rectangle, but a rectangle can’t be a square. The same goes for truths and facts. A fact can be the truth, but not every truth is a fact. Whether it be an individual or universal truth, the truth can’t simply be labeled or defined in one way.