I had originally planned on titling this post, We are All Liars, or, A Nation of Liars.
Harsh? Wrong? A terrible thing to say?
Maybe. But when the President of the United States lies, while denying he lies; which is a lie; which is then incontrovertibly proven, but accepted by a good portion of the population, which knows he lying and is yet unconcerned…
We have a problem, we lie. All the time, big and small, blatantly and unknowingly, casually or foolishly. And we know it, and we accept it. It’s not just Trump, master of the medium though he may be. Lies surround us, embody us, manipulate us to every end under the sun and we know this, even if subliminally, and it’s making us sick. Angry. Bitter. Resentful. Fearful. Hateful.
It’s everywhere, politics, business, religion, education; every facet of our lives. It makes the truth whatever we want it to be regardless of facts, statistics or personal observation. If you do not care for the fact that the earth revolves around the sun, deny it; say it often enough and it becomes accepted as truth. Argue all you want that’s wrong, provably wrong; it’s simply an alternate truth.
It also makes of us deeply unimportant, which is killing us!
I was taught not to lie. It was wrong and liars were not to be trusted. How could they be? Anything and everything they utter might be a lie! An honest man was a virtuous man. Yes, a honest man may have to voice unpleasant truths, but at least you knew where you stood; you knew what you were facing.
What happened to that? We all know; it was them!
Telling people what they want to hear regardless of whether it’s fact or fiction is deeply corrosive because there is a tacit understanding that it means nothing, will lead to nothing and that’s the way it is and will be and nothing will change that because nothing is true.
When nothing is true then no one is true or believable on any subject. Everything becomes suspect and anything can be accepted. What was “true” yesterday, is “false” tomorrow; what was “false” today, is “true” tomorrow. History means nothing; education means nothing. Facts mean nothing, they are merely one person’s opinion or point of view.
That lies destroy truth is played out everyday before us.
I know a great many people will be offended by this; that they are not liars and on a personal level that’s very true. It has to be otherwise nothing gets done. But no matter our personal virtue, we all are all part of bigger problem, a systemic problem with the truth-we don’t want to hear it if it goes against what we believe and that is the what we must begin to ask ourselves; is what we believe more important than what is, whether it verifies or challenges that belief.
Here lies the truth.
©2018 David William Pearce
David William Pearce, Writer 