“You can’t handle the truth” is one of the most famous lines Hollywood has ever given movie audiences.

In the 1992 classic “A Few Good Men,” hard-charging Marine Col. Nathan Jessup, played by the legendary Jack Nicholson, is firing back at JAG lawyer Daniel Kaffee, played by Tom Cruise in one of his greatest roles. During cross-examination, the young lawyer has steadily cornered Jessup, backing him into acknowledging what, up until that point, the politically well-connected senior officer has concealed.

What we often forget, absorbed in the intensity of the courtroom drama unfolding, is the phrase that prompts Jessup’s rage. “I want the truth,” Kaffee says.

That’s us — Americans, We the People. We want the truth. Instead, our ruling class prides itself on keeping it from us. Count the lies.