Tell Me (No!) Lies

By Phil Erwin

In a recent article, Gregory Welborn makes an oblique reference to the public perception of politicians as a pack of pathological liars. He was nicer than that, but let’s face it: That’s what we all really think.

And that’s what we all know.

What Mr. Welborn suggests is that we have grown accustomed to, and accepting of, our politicians prevaricating about little things; but that when it comes to the big things, the important things, we expect, and deserve, honesty.

But who decides what’s a “little thing,” and what is big enough to merit honesty?   Do you get to vote on that?  And why would you leave it up to a politician you already know is prone to lying?

You listen to a campaigning politician, like what he says, and vote for him because of what he says. When he takes office and does the opposite of what he promised, he negates your good-faith vote. You might just as well have voted for the other guy, whose views you disliked. Then when he weasels out of his campaign promises, you might get what you actually want. It’s like the old parenting ploy to get your kids to do what they should: Tell them you want them to do the opposite.

Give politicians the leeway to lie on the “little things,” and soon you’ll be wondering if you should just vote for everybody you hate, cross your fingers, and hope for a miracle.

No, I think we should expect honesty from our politicians, period. And yes, I know that sounds unrealistic, and clearly flies in the face of reality.   Nevertheless: It’s what we should expect.

It’s what we should vote for; and most particularly: What we should expect our journalists to demand on our behalf.

Thomas Jefferson recognized that a democratic nation required a reasonable public voting in a well-informed way in order for the government to be truly representative of the will of The People. Ben Franklin considered Truth to be a valuable commodity. “Half a truth is often a great lie,” he wrote; and “A lie stands on one leg, truth on two.” Franklin knew his Democratic Republic required a well-informed public.

Not a lie-informed one.

But in order for the citizenry to be well-informed, it stands to reason that they must have good, reliable, trustworthy sources of information.   Franklin often signed his letters, “B. Franklin, Printer,” emphasizing the importance he placed on publishing. Good thing he’s in his grave now, or the current state of journalism would kill him.

Honesty. Truth. Bedrocks of civilization.

Truth is the foundation on which our democracy must function. Lies are at the heart of every evil governments ever visit on We the People: Oppression, corruption, tax manipulation, misappropriation, property confiscation – if these are government’s rewards, lies are the currency with which they are purchased.

So: How well are the government and the news media doing at serving us up the Truth of our nation’s business?

Hmmm.   Let’s see. “If you like your plan, you can keep it.” “You’ll save $2500 a year in insurance premiums.” “This law will cover 30 million uninsured people, and it won’t cost anybody a dime.” “No, illegal immigrants won’t be covered.”

Yeah. Sure.

Did Obama check these points with Herr Professor Gruber? We now know these promises were deliberate lies. The people that cooked up Obamacare knew that the reality would be the opposite of the promises. Hence, Gruber’s constant cackling that the American people were “too stupid” to know the truth about “affordable” healthcare. (But of course, the American people expected the government and the press to be telling them the truth about it.)

We heard: “This Trillion-dollar stimulus will jump-start the economy with shovel-ready jobs!”   Years later we find out Obama doesn’t know what a shovel looks like.

We heard: “There’s not even a smidgen of corruption involved” with the IRS/Lois Lerner scandal. So… How come the whole Administration insisted those damning e-mails were forever lost, and then two years later thousands of them just magically appear?   Anybody in the “mainstream” press explain that? Anybody even ask the question?

And then there’s the whole Benghazi video. Obama stood on the international stage at the UN, two weeks after Ambassador Stevens and three other patriots were killed, and insisted it was an out-of-control mob whipped up by a mean-spirited video, when he knew all along that that was pure poppycock. We all knew it was BS.

All, that is, except the mainstream press.

The only news agency sniffing around that smelly story was FOX.

I’m with Ben Franklin on this: I think we’re in big, big trouble if we can’t find the truth in all things politic – which we absolutely cannot do for ourselves. We have to rely on the press to do it for us. That, after all, is their job, their charter; their raison d’etre. Journalism 101: Find the Truth, check it twice, and then Print It.

If the government line is BS, and the press can’t tell it’s BS, or doesn’t care that it’s BS, and just publishes or airs it without question, then how are we supposed to know?

How are we to find the Truth of things?

Thank Franklin we’ve still got a few intrepid reporters diligently screaming, “Hunhh?? Whadjoo say?? Oh, No WAY!!!” and ferreting out a little Truth for us.

I’ll close with a little unpaid advertising. I know, I know… I’ve said it before, but it’s well worth repeating, and remembering:

If you don’t watch FOX, you don’t know sh*t.)

Phil Erwin is an author, IT administrator and registered Independent living in Newbury Park. He sometimes wishes he could support Democrat ideals, but he has a visceral hatred for Lies and Damn Lies, and is skeptical of Statistics. If his writing depresses you, he recommends you visit Chip Bok’s site for a more lighthearted perspective.

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