Relinquishing illusions

This is a true patriot:

It is natural for man to indulge in the illusions of hope. We are apt to shut our eyes against a painful truth, and listen to the song of that siren till she transforms us into beasts... For my part, whatever anguish of spirit it may cost, I am willing to know the whole truth, to know the worst, and to provide for it.

-- Patrick Henry

From a meditative point of view, a refusal to acknowledge the truth about a situation is indulging in the mind poison of delusion. One way delusion manifests is as the need not to know. The remedy, of course, is cultivating a willingness to know. This is what we need to cultivate if we are not to lose freedoms completely.