To Tell the Truth. Which of the three contestants is the real McCoy? The climactic moment when the host commands the true-bluer to stand.

Standing up for truth is easier on game shows than it is in life. Telling the truth does not always set you free. Truth telling can be as joyous as a summons to the IRS office. As painful as a dentist’s drill driving deep into your molar with purring fury. Truth’s consequences are often as dark as a Harlan County mine. Because telling the truth is so hard, sometimes it becomes like a chocolate drop which melts in our mouths. Truth has often been shanghaied into boarding a "Good Ship Lollipop" that has been populated by a crew of sugar-coated syllables.

Ahimelech told the truth, so help him God. His crime was helping a fugitive. A rag-tag Robin Hood sin…