Tragic Case Of Ken Aden And The Truth

IRAQ WAR VETERAN HAD A VERY HARD TIME LETTING GO OF HIS GOAL OF BEING A GREEN BERET

A human being’s whole worth shouldn’t be judged by the first thing popping up in a Google search.

Ken Aden, 33, of Russellville never was a Green Beret. He claimed he was. The truth came out during his campaign for Congress. He was right, though late, to drop out of that race Monday. Aden still owes an apology to those in the Special Forces. I’m not alone in believing that.

So why do I think any of this is tragic?

Aden never could have won that race. What’s tragic is now he’ll probably never win another one.

Now, whatever he does, he’ll always be the guy who said he was a Green Beret.

That’s what will pop up on Google whenever someone looks.

Sure, there’s justice in that. My point is there would be more justice if Aden were a chickenhawk or a Walter Mitty. He’s an Iraq War veteran. He won’t be known for that.

He won’t be known as someone who ran hundreds of miles through Arkansas just to raise money in a food drive this year. The fact he went through tryouts for Special Forces service three times will be a footnote.

Even I know no one goes through Special Forcestraining for fun. Anyone who does it twice knows what he’s getting into.

Someone who does it three times is just stubborn.

I admire the resolve - to a point. Sadly, this isn’t the first time I’ve seen such resolve trump facts.

Anyone who wants something to be true badly enough can start believing it, true or not. My greatest strength as a journalist, if I have one, is how I want nothing so very badly.

I don’t think Aden said he was a Green Beret to polish his life story. I think he had a very hard time letting go of his goal of being a Green Beret.

Someone who went through the ordeal that is Special Forces training three times has issues with failure. Why else would he claim something that could be debunked with a phone call?

My opinion changes nothing, even if it happens to be right. I just believe motives and context matter, even in simple things already resolved. There’s a warning here, too.

Andy Warhol’s famous remark doesn’t apply anymore. Instead of everybody being famous for 15 minutes, we’re each going to be famous forever - for the dumbest thing we ever did. That’s what will pop up in the Google search. The evil we do will live after us. The good will be interred somewhere on page seven of the search.

Always mind what you say. Never forget that facts never defer to desire,however strong the desire may be. Not even an election can change facts.

Most of all, beware anything you want badly.

Anything you want badly enough will blind you.

Pressed hard enough, you can and will lie to yourself.

You will believe your myth. Then you can and will tell others it’s the truth with complete conviction.

How odd is that? The more selfish the desire, the more likely we are to shareany lie that springs from it.

I’ve written a lot of stories about bad things people have done. Some were done by people with good families and friends.

There are a lot of people who would rather believe any lie about me than the truth about someone they love. It’s a hazard of the job. No matter how much the person I wrote about deserved what he or she got, though, I always felt sorry for the familyand friends.

It’s a tragic thing to force someone who cares to choose between believing you and believing the truth.

We can’t all be Green Berets. We should all be honest, though, with ourselves. If we are honest with ourselves, we are likely to be honest with everyone else.

DOUG THOMPSON IS A POLITICAL REPORTER AND COLUMNIST FOR NWA MEDIA.

Opinion, Pages 15 on 07/15/2012

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