Quid est Veritas?

The beautiful princess strides fearlessly up the center aisle towards the monarchs of the distant land. She hails from a nation extremely removed from the bustling and proud British Empire; yet this seventeenth-century American Indian speaks the language of these foreigners with ease and clarity. . . .

Unfortunately, the second Pocahontas movie that Disney made can never compare to Disney’s original “Pocahontas.” The enchanting music, rich landscapes, and even compelling story from the first film captivated many hearts and won thousands of fans—despite all its historical inaccuracies and a few overly-dramatic scenes. Although I think “Pocahontas II” succeeded as one of the better Disney sequels, it lacks the scope and overall charm of the first film. At the same time, a particular scene from this lesser sequel continues to stick out in my memory. It is one of the final scenes in the movie, when Pocahontas comes before the King and Queen to defend herself and her people. She has just escaped from prison after King James threw her in jail for having insulted him the night before at a fancy dinner. Naturally, the “evil” Radcliffe had set the whole thing up to begin with, and Pocahontas has returned before the King and Queen to set things right for both cultures. Surrounded by a crowd of suspicious men, the comical and cartoonish King James quizzically asks the princess: “Why do you speak out when so many doubt you?” The camera offers a close-up of the young American Indian’s face: “Because I speak the Truth.”

Truth. What is it? Does it exist? With so many different religions and scientific breakthroughs it would seem that one could never pin down anything that can certainly be said to be “true.” Only the very basic concepts of “2 + 2 = 4” and the Law of Gravity’s “what goes up must come down” seem to have enough weight to settle the doubt of so many people. Yet surely mankind must know that there is more truth to life than the laws of mathematics and physics. After all, most of us know that murder is wrong no matter what form it takes. Stealing, cheating, and any other crime involving the harm of one person to another has been condemned by most modern principalities. Even the institution of slavery exists in a lot fewer places than it has in the past. So yes, we know that certain things people do are just plain wrong.

But how do we know these things? It is because someone told us? Surely we don’t believe that murder is wrong just because it’s the “popular” opinion of the day. So maybe we got this knowledge from somewhere else. Maybe we believe that cheating on another person is wrong because we know it is wrong. Something in us tells us that it is. Something in our gut.

It has been said that we will recognize Truth when we see it. Of course, it does seem that one’s conscience can be formed incorrectly about certain issues—freeing the slaves, for example, was certainly not a popular opinion among otherwise upstanding citizens. Yet with the right arguments, the right influences, and the right circumstances, even the most tangled minds can come to agree with the most basic laws of morality.

So in the end, it would seem that even the cartoon Disney Pocahontas from the second film may have something to teach us—that Truth does exist. And it’s our job to spread it to the world.