Do you believe that you know the truth when you hear it?

This morning, near the end of a long, otherwise-waste-of-time meeting, those of us in attendance were asked to provide feedback about a recent workshop experience. Now, given that I had been unable to attend that particular event, I was obviously unable to offer up any commentary.

So, I sat and just listened.

The first person to speak happened to provide some quite-critical remarks. But, he did it in a very gentle, thoughtful and articulate way, and it was obvious that he was speaking from the heart.

Ahhh, I said to my self, a truth-teller.

I was pretty amazed. This is not a group that, in my experience, can “tell it like it is.” It’s just not a safe enough environment in which to express one’s honest beliefs most of the time.

So, here’s something I know: there’s hardly anything in the world that’s quite as refreshing as an honest person speaking his or her own truth. (Especially when there may be some kind of risk involved.) You know: someone who just kind of lets it all hang out there, despite the possibility of consequences.

This happens to be the second time in a week I’ve witnessed an apparent truth-teller. Last Friday night, Bill Maher interviewed presidential candidate John Edwards on HBO’s “Real Time With Bill Maher.” Edwards is proposing a universal health-care system that would need more tax dollars to support. He openly admits that, regarding the most important issue he voted on in the U.S. Senate, the war in Iraq, he got it wrong. (!) And, he is against the current W. proposal for a “surge” and has a plan to disengage us from that debacle in about a year’s time.

Wow. A politician who admits a mistake. Someone who says he’d actually raise taxes. Pretty radical stuff.

Even Bill Maher was rather amazed, and observed that individuals who are that honest don’t typically get elected.

Edwards suggested we change all that in 2008.

So, what do you think? Does an honest politician exist? Is Edwards that person? Could this country possibly elect such an individual to our highest office?