--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The truth, finally, is who can tell it." description: "\"The truth, finally, is who can tell it.\" — Chang-Rae Lee" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/877/chang-rae-lee-3318_finally_the-truth-finally-is-who-can-tell-it-233_23354.png" --- # The truth, finally, is who can tell it. ![“The truth, finally, is who can tell it.” quote by Chang-Rae Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/877/chang-rae-lee-3318_finally_the-truth-finally-is-who-can-tell-it-233_23354.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/877/chang-rae-lee-3318_finally_the-truth-finally-is-who-can-tell-it-233_23354.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/877/chang-rae-lee-3318_finally_the-truth-finally-is-who-can-tell-it-233_23354.png) > “The truth, finally, is who can tell it.” [Chang-Rae Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chang-rae-lee/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Truth is defined by the authority of the teller, not by an objective standard; credibility shapes reality. **In simple terms:** Credibility defines truth. Key Takeaway Authority shapes reality. Themes epistemology power subjectivity narrative perception Mood thoughtful critical inquisitive Type aphorism philosophical When to use this quote - journalistic reporting - court testimony - historical documentation - personal storytelling - media analysis Key Concepts truth authority subjectivity knowledge Practical Applications - evaluating source credibility - designing fact‑checking workflows Questions to Reflect On - Who decides which voice is trustworthy? - How does power influence what is accepted as truth? ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Truth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/truth/) ## Related quotes > [The worst thing the truth can do, is when you finally tell it, it doesn't set you free, but it locks you away forever..](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-worst-thing-the-truth-can-do-is-when-you-finally-tell-it-it-doesn/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [It's really nice that the truth can finally come out.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vince-vaughn/it-s-really-nice-that-the-truth-can-finally-come-out/) [Vince Vaughn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vince-vaughn/) > [“I finally had to tell him to please shut the fuck up already; funnily enough he didn't seem to appreciate that. I don't know…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ethan-day/i-finally-had-to-tell-him-to-please-shut-the-fuck-up-already-funnily/) [Ethan Day](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ethan-day/) > [Marriage has been great because finally I can tell people that I am in a relationship.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aditya-narayan/marriage-has-been-great-because-finally-i-can-tell-people-that-i-am/) [Aditya Narayan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aditya-narayan/) > [“disclosure: (n.) when they finally tell us everything and nothing changes.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sol-luckman/disclosure-n-when-they-finally-tell-us-everything-and-nothing-changes/) [Sol Luckman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sol-luckman/) > [“But she always sweetly and tenderly called him Mungo for it was Mungo and his words of truth that had finally set her free.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-jay-cleveland/but-she-always-sweetly-and-tenderly-called-him-mungo-for-it-was-mungo/) Anthony Jay Cleveland > [Experience is what really happens to you in the long run; the truth that finally overtakes you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katherine-anne-porter/experience-is-what-really-happens-to-you-in-the-long-run-the-truth/) [Katherine Anne Porter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katherine-anne-porter/) > [There was a time When every suspicion was a reality Now that truth is finally unveiled What am I supposed to think?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-kler/there-was-a-time-when-every-suspicion-was-a-reality-now-that-truth-is/) [Nick Kler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-kler/) > [There was a time When every suspicion was a reality Now that truth is finally unveiled What am I supposed to think? How am…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-kler/there-was-a-time-when-every-suspicion-was-a-reality-now-that-truth-is-2/) [Nick Kler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-kler/) > [The truth has finally come out! But it: is quite weak \| do not believe me, here is the truth which many people died…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mak-786/the-truth-has-finally-come-out-but-it-is-quite-weak-do-not-believe-me/) Mak\_786 > [And the truth must finally lie in that which every oppressed individual feels within himself but hasn't the courage to express](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wilhelm-reich/and-the-truth-must-finally-lie-in-that-which-every-oppressed/) [Wilhelm Reich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wilhelm-reich/) > [“When the truth finally catches up to you, don't be a hero and run.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-le-carre/when-the-truth-finally-catches-up-to-you-don-t-be-a-hero-and-run/) [John le Carré](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-le-carre/) > [The truth will finally come out and the truth is: If LSD is used in the right way, it is a very important and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-hofmann/the-truth-will-finally-come-out-and-the-truth-is-if-lsd-is-used-in/) [Albert Hofmann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-hofmann/) > [It requires as much to tell the truth as to conceal it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/baltasar-gracian/it-requires-as-much-to-tell-the-truth-as-to-conceal-it/) [Baltasar Gracian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/baltasar-gracian/) > [When a young artist asks me a question, I want to do what I can to give them an answer if I have it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-tait/when-a-young-artist-asks-me-a-question-i-want-to-do-what-i-can-to/) [Michael Tait](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-tait/) ## More by Chang-Rae Lee > [I think my parents recognised that I'd always wanted to be a writer, and so they didn't think that this was some idle, faddish…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chang-rae-lee/i-think-my-parents-recognised-that-i-d-always-wanted-to-be-a-writer/) [Chang-Rae Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chang-rae-lee/) > [Some writers are writing one great, big book and just taking all these different avenues towards it. They might seem on the outside to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chang-rae-lee/some-writers-are-writing-one-great-big-book-and-just-taking-all-these/) [Chang-Rae Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chang-rae-lee/) > [I try to be aware of what I'm concerned about, aware of how I feel about myself in the world, aware of how I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chang-rae-lee/i-try-to-be-aware-of-what-i-m-concerned-about-aware-of-how-i-feel/) [Chang-Rae Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chang-rae-lee/) > [“Behold a fire from the opposite shore.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chang-rae-lee/behold-a-fire-from-the-opposite-shore/) [Chang-rae Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chang-rae-lee/) > [“I would give most anything to hear my father's talk again, the crash and bang and stop of his language, always hurtling by. 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I wouldn't want to suggest…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chang-rae-lee/the-past-as-you-suggest-is-absolutely-present-at-all-times-and-the/) [Chang-Rae Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chang-rae-lee/) > [Most people don't think about race as much as I do. They don't have to.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chang-rae-lee/most-people-don-t-think-about-race-as-much-as-i-do-they-don-t-have-to/) [Chang-Rae Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chang-rae-lee/) > [Not to any really influential effect, but certainly there have been comments that have surprised me. It's surprising sometimes to get particular perspectives on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chang-rae-lee/not-to-any-really-influential-effect-but-certainly-there-have-been/) [Chang-Rae Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chang-rae-lee/) > [My family immigrated when I was 3, and our predecessors inhabited the Korean Peninsula for as long as can be recalled.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chang-rae-lee/my-family-immigrated-when-i-was-3-and-our-predecessors-inhabited-the/) [Chang-Rae Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chang-rae-lee/) > [After college, I was living in New York and wrote furiously, a huge novel that I knew was a failure. I hoped that the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chang-rae-lee/after-college-i-was-living-in-new-york-and-wrote-furiously-a-huge/) [Chang-Rae Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chang-rae-lee/) > [Usually, when you're talking about work with other writers it's because something seriously bad is going on with your work and you've absolutely thrown…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chang-rae-lee/usually-when-you-re-talking-about-work-with-other-writers-it-s/) [Chang-Rae Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chang-rae-lee/) > [ I had a visceral connection to the period \[of Korean War\]. By visceral I suppose I mean emotional. But every fiction requires so much… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chang-rae-lee/i-had-a-visceral-connection-to-the-period-of-korean-war-by-visceral-i/) [Chang-Rae Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chang-rae-lee/) > [They're not parallel at all. 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Averell Harriman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-averell-harriman/) > [“perfection is finally attained not when there is no longer anything to add, but when there is no longer anything to take away”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antoine-de-saint-exup-ry/perfection-is-finally-attained-not-when-there-is-no-longer-anything/) [Antoine de Saint-Exupéry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antoine-de-saint-exup-ry/) > [I thank you to my God, now I finally got it right and I'll fight with all of my heart and all my soul…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matisyahu/i-thank-you-to-my-god-now-i-finally-got-it-right-and-i-ll-fight-with/) [Matisyahu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matisyahu/) > [“You think: Oh, here is the rest of my life. It’s finally arrived.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gillian-flynn/you-think-oh-here-is-the-rest-of-my-life-it-s-finally-arrived/) [Gillian Flynn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gillian-flynn/) > [Got my dream body!!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/got-my-dream-body/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“When the noise finally”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-s-quinn/when-the-noise-finally/) C.S. 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