The Divergent Series Complete Collection (108 page)

DISHONESTY IS RAMPANT. DISHONESTY IS TEMPORARY. DISHONESTY MAKES EVIL POSSIBLE.

A
s it stands now, lies pervade society, families, and even the internal life of the individual. One group lies to another group, parents lie to children, children lie to parents, friends lie to friends, individuals lie to themselves. Dishonesty has become so integral to the way we relate to one another that we rarely find ourselves in authentic relationships with others. Our dark secrets remain our own. Yet it is our dark secrets that cause conflict. When we are dishonest with the people around us, we begin to hate ourselves for lying; when we are dishonest with ourselves, we can never even attempt to correct the flaws we find within us, the flaws we are so desperate to hide from our loved ones, the flaws that make us lie.

What has become clear is that lies are just a temporary solution to a permanent problem. Lying to spare a person’s feelings, even when the truth would help them to improve, damages them in the long run. Lying to protect yourself lasts for so long before the truth emerges. Like a wild animal, the truth is too powerful to remain caged. These are examples we can clearly see in our own lives, yet we fail to understand that they do not just apply to the dynamic between ourselves and our neighbors, or ourselves and our friends.

What is society but a web of individual-to-individual relationships? And what is conflict except one person’s dark secret crashing into another person’s dark secret? Dishonesty is a veil that shields one person from another. Dishonesty allows evil to persist, hidden from the eyes of those who would fight it.

DISHONESTY LEADS TO SUSPICION. SUSPICION LEADS TO CONFLICT. HONESTY LEADS TO PEACE.

W
e have a vision of an honest world. In this world, parents do not lie to their children, and children do not lie to their parents; friends do not lie to one another; spouses do not lie to each other. When we are asked our opinions we are free to give them without having to consider any other responses. When we engage in conversation with others, we do not have to evaluate their intentions, because they are transparent. We have no suspicion, and no one suspects us.

And most of all—yes, above all else—we are free to expose our dark secrets because we know the dark secrets of our neighbors, our friends, our spouses, our children, our parents, and our enemies. We know that while we are flawed in a unique way, we are not unique because we are flawed. Therefore we can be authentic. We have no suspicions. And we are at peace with those around us.

TRUTH MAKES US TRANSPARENT. TRUTH MAKES US STRONG. TRUTH MAKES US INEXTRICABLE.

W
e will raise our children to tell the truth. We will do this by encouraging them to speak their minds at every moment. For the child, withholding words is the same as lying.

We will be honest with our children even at the expense of their feelings. The only reason people cannot bear honesty now is because they were not raised hearing the truth about themselves, and they can’t stand to. If children are raised to hear both honest praise and honest criticism, they will not be so fragile as to crumble beneath the scrutiny of their peers. A life of truth makes us strong.

Adulthood will be defined as a time at which each member of society is capable of bearing every other member’s dark secrets, just as every other member will bear theirs. Therefore each member will be subjected to The Full Unveiling, in which every hidden part of their life is laid bare before their fellow members. They, too, will see the hidden parts of their fellow members’ lives. In this way we bear one another’s secrets. In this way we become inextricable:

TRUTH

MAKES

US

INEXTRICABLE.

WE SUBMIT THE FOLLOWING STATEMENTS AS TRUTH:

1. “Ignorance” is defined not as stupidity but as lack of knowledge.

2. Lack of knowledge inevitably leads to lack of understanding.

3. Lack of understanding leads to a disconnect among people with differences.

4. Disconnection among people with differences leads to conflict.

5. Knowledge is the only logical solution to the problem of conflict.

Therefore, we propose that in order to eliminate conflict, we must eliminate the disconnect among those with differences by correcting the lack of understanding that arises from ignorance with knowledge. The areas in which people must be educated are:

SOCIOLOGY

• So that the individual understands how society at large functions.

PSYCHOLOGY

• So that the individual understands how a person functions within that society.

MATHEMATICS

• So that the individual is prepared for further study in science, engineering, medicine, and technology.

SCIENCE

• So that the individual better understands how the world operates.

• So that the individual’s study in other areas is supplemented.

• So that as many individuals as possible are prepared to enter the fields devoted to innovation and progress.

COMMUNICATION

• So that the individual knows how to speak and write clearly and effectively.

HISTORY

• So that the individual understands the mistakes and successes that have led us to this point.

• So that the individual learns to emulate those successes and avoid those mistakes.

Leaders must not be chosen based on charisma, popularity, or ease of communication, all of which are misleading and have little to do with the efficacy of a political leader. An objective standard must be used in order to determine who is best fit to lead. That standard will be an intelligence test, administered to all adults when the present leader reaches fifty-five or begins to decline in brain function in a demonstrable way.

Those who, after rigorous studying, do not meet a minimum intelligence requirement will be exiled from the faction so they can be made useful. This is not an act of elitism but rather one of practicality: Those who are not intelligent enough to engage in the roles assigned to us—roles that require a considerable mental capacity—are better suited to menial work than to faction work. Menial work is required for the survival of society, and is therefore just as important as faction work.

Information must always be made available to all faction members at all times. The withholding of information is punishable by reprimand, imprisonment, and, eventually, exile. Every question that can be answered must be answered or at least engaged. Illogical thought processes must be challenged when they arise. Wrong answers must be corrected. Correct answers must be affirmed. If an answer to a question is unclear, it must be put to debate. All debates require evidence. Any controversial thought or idea must be supplemented by evidence in order to reduce the potential for conflict.

Intelligence must be used for the benefit, and not to the detriment, of society. Those who use intelligence for their own personal gain or to the detriment of others have not properly borne the responsibility of their gift, and are not welcome in our faction.

It bears repeating: Intelligence is a gift, not a right. It must be wielded not as a weapon but as a tool for the betterment of others.

WE BELIEVE

that cowardice is to blame for the world’s injustices.

WE BELIEVE

that peace is hard-won, that sometimes it is necessary to fight for peace. But more than that:

WE BELIEVE

that justice is more important than peace.

WE BELIEVE

in freedom from fear, in denying fear the power to influence our decisions.

WE BELIEVE

in ordinary acts of bravery, in the courage that drives one person to stand up for another.

WE BELIEVE

in acknowledging fear and the extent to which it rules us.

WE BELIEVE

in facing that fear no matter what the cost to our comfort, our happiness, or even our sanity.

WE BELIEVE

in shouting for those who can only whisper, in defending those who cannot defend themselves.

WE BELIEVE
,

not just in bold words but in bold deeds to match them.

WE BELIEVE

that pain and death are better than cowardice and inaction, because

WE BELIEVE

in action.

WE DO NOT BELIEVE

in living comfortable lives.

WE DO NOT BELIEVE

that silence is useful.

WE DO NOT BELIEVE

in good manners.

WE DO NOT BELIEVE

in limiting the fullness of life.

WE DO NOT BELIEVE

in empty heads, empty mouths, or empty hands.

WE DO NOT BELIEVE

that learning to master violence encourages unnecessary violence.

WE DO NOT BELIEVE

that we should be allowed to stand idly by.

WE DO NOT BELIEVE

that any other virtue is more important than bravery.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Photo © Nelson Fitch

VERONICA ROTH
is the #1
New York Times
bestselling author of
DIVERGENT
and
INSURGENT
, the first two books in the
DIVERGENT
series. Now a full-time writer, Ms. Roth and her husband live near Chicago.

You can visit her online at veronicarothbooks.com.

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