Thou Shalt Lie

America on Shaky Ground, Part 5

Have we descended into a fact free culture?  A time where outrageously false pronouncements are commonplace?  Yes. Truth is the sacrificial lamb in our “thou shalt lie” society.  Why do we tolerate this insult to our intelligence?  

While a book could be filled with examples from this and previous administrations, let’s examine a few recent whoppers:  

During his election campaign after the Kenosha riot, President Biden implied that Kyle Rittenhouse was a racist white supremacist in a tweeted video condemning President Trump. The media joined in.  Not surprisingly folks only learned the facts if they watched the actual trial.  Racism played no role and those who stated it did were lying.  

On January 6, 2022, Vice President Harris stated: “The violent assault that took place here, the very fact of how close we came to an election overturned — that reflects the fragility of democracy.”  At no point was the election in danger of being overturned.  To characterize the January 6 riot as a coup is political theater at its worst.  Another lie uttered by yet another morally bankrupt politician.  

During his second public address after Kabul fell, President Biden said:  “Any American who wants to come home, we will get you home.” The President also made the assertion that if we needed to remain in Afghanistan beyond the end of the month to continue to evacuate Americans we would.  Clearly a lie.  

In reference to the trumped up kerfuffle over border agents on horseback, President Biden stated: “To see people treated like they did, horses barely running over, people being strapped – it’s outrageous.  I promise you, those people will pay. There will be an investigation underway now and there will be consequences. There will be consequences.”  Deflection? Probably. Lie? Definitely.  

During President Biden’s speech in Atlanta regarding his proposed bill to federalize election law, he stated: “Jim Crow 2.0 is about two insidious things: voter suppression and election subversion. It’s no longer about who gets to vote; it’s about making it harder to vote. It’s about who gets to count the vote and whether your vote counts at all.  It’s not hyperbole; this is a fact.”  It is hyperbole and it is a lie.  For an excellent summation, consider this editorial from the WSJ. 

And how about the Biden administration talking point, “inflation is transitory”.  Gross incompetence?  Yes.  Lie?  Yes.  

Other than sporadic Washington Post Pinocchios, there appears to be a bizarre indifference to the incessant lying as evidenced by empty excuses such as “all politicians lie” or more often “at least Trump is gone”.  Our silence is permission.  

Not only do we encourage lying politicians and their propagandists with our silence, very few ask why they bombard us with one obvious lie after another.  Has our curiosity been dulled by years of unethical politicians?  Are we too lazy to ask why?  Too busy?  We certainly are not too stupid.  We must reengage and examine the liars’ motive. 

Some motives are obvious.  As evidenced above, much of the lying seeks to divide us on racial lines spawning resentment and anger between groups causing the citizens to turn on each other.  Clearly division and resultant destabilization is one goal.  Another goal appears to be the consolidation of the liar’s power.  Divide and conquer is an axiom for a reason.  

Consolidation of power also requires an erosion of our Federalist system of government which distributes power between the States and the central government.  Not surprisingly we have recently witnessed an uptick in proposals to shift power away from the States, such schemes fueled by blatant lies.  Why do they lie in this case?  To gain popular support.  We should reject all efforts to concentrate power at the federal level and loudly denounce the lies. Our system of checks and balances offers us protection from tyranny and limits the power of unethical individuals who manage to win elections or lurk in the shadows controlling an incompetent figurehead.

We tolerate the manipulative behavior of politicians and their propagandists at our own peril.  Our rational democrat, republican, black, brown, yellow and white neighbors are not the enemy as they would have us believe.  The liars are the enemy.  Regardless of their rhetoric to the contrary, these dishonest politicians do not care about us, the constitution, our democracy, voting rights, poverty or racism.  They only care about themselves, their power and money.  

Our country desperately needs ethical, competent men and women at the helm who will uphold our brilliant constitution.  We need leaders who respect our intelligence with the truth and do not propagate false narratives for their own gain.  It is up to us, we the people, to demand the best and stop accepting politicians who put America on dangerously shaky ground.  

Shaky Ground Summary

As a reminder we will only examine what is happening and leave why unasked for now.  Below is a summary of destabilizing factors addressed in this and previous articles in the America on Shaky Ground series.  

• Part 1 – Division and distrust caused by the prohibition of gathering.
• Part 2 – Division and distrust caused by categorizing women and men into victims and oppressors.  
• Part 3 – Division and distrust caused by racial segregation via victim/oppressor ideology.
• Part 4 – Destabilize the populace by undermining the constitutional right of self-defense. 
• Part 5 – Propagation of false narratives designed to destabilize the populace and consolidate power. 

Notes

• The thoughts above are not intended to be solely a Democrat bashing session. There are Republican politicians who have been equally guilty of lying and creating division. I chose to focus on the present lies and avoid the distraction that any discussion of Trump always brings. Republicans were virtually silent about Trump’s lies and Democrats are virtually silent about Biden’s lies. This contributes to the division in our country. We can no longer be silent regardless of party.
• Lately everything seems to be a “threat to democracy”.  This is head spinning material considering that the same folks who use that talking point are also leading efforts to consolidate power at the federal level.  Concentration of power opens the door to future tyranny, which is a very real threat to democracy.  
• Considering the lies and rhetoric, a review of our federalist form of government is in order.  There are many articles such as https://oxgs.org/a-brief-overview-of-the-american-model-of-federalism/,https://www.britannica.com/topic/federalism.
• Federal encroachment on State’s rights is not new.  There has been steady creep for years.  For an overview, read this Heritage Foundation article.  https://www.heritage.org/conservatism/report/federalism-crisis-urgent-action-required-preserve-self-government
• Here is a Daily Mail article that summarizes a CATO institute study which assessed each of the 50 states under 23 different categories and produced an overall freedom ranking. The most and least free states are unchanged – New York being the least free, followed by Hawaii and California, and New Hampshire, Florida and Nevada being the most free.
• Since so many false narratives involve race, it behooves us to reacquaint ourselves with the global history of slavery.  Thomas Sowell outlines much needed facts in his essay “The Real History of Slavery” found in his excellent book “Black Rednecks and White Liberals”.  
• The lies and rhetoric that surround HR1 are beyond belief. Read the full text of the Georgia law here. Schumer is the latest in a long line of politicians to enter the fray. This WSJ editorial demonstrates what Schumer really cares about and its not voting rights.
• Biden took the opportunity during his press conference on January 19, 2022 to divide the country further by suggesting that the 2022 elections could be illegitimate unless his federal voting rights bill is passed. Haven’t we had enough talk about illegitimate election results from would be and elected Presidents? I encourage the entire country to watch Biden speak on this issue. Do we really want to put control of elections in the hands of this man and his handlers, Trump or any other future President?
• There is always a kernel of truth in a good lie. This WSJ editorial attempts to find that kernel in the distorted justifications supporting federalized election law.

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