Fantastic Take About the Acceptance of Lying

[LoneStarLiberal]

<http://www.salon.com/ent/feature/2003/12/22/liar/print.html>

I believe this is a pay-enabled link, so I'll post some of the best snippets below:

The Year of the Liar
by Heather Havrilesky

<snip>

"While the urge to deceive others may be an essential facet of human nature, our attitudes toward lying and cheating seem to change as our sociocultural climate and our values shift. In his book "The Cheating Culture," author David Callahan suggests that the individualism and free-market ideals of our culture create conditions in which members of every economic strata of society find themselves tempted to cheat in order to get ahead. But the widespread, whispered acceptance of everything from the long-term use of unemployment benefits to inappropriate tax deductions surely doesn't begin and end with the unfair distribution of wealth in this country. What's perhaps more unsettling than the lies themselves or the conditions that create a culture in which lying is implicitly accepted is the way we treat the liar and how it has evolved over time. Once the obligatory period of shock and indignation is over, high-profile cheats are welcomed back into the fold with open arms, encouraged to tell their stories, in full makeup, while a sympathetic interviewer coos appreciatively. The book deals and the attention don't falter for years; in fact, the greater the heat, the greater the potential payday."

<snip>

"Is it just because fame -- even if based on notoriety -- is always celebrated? Or do Americans believe so firmly in upward mobility and the virtue of reinvention that we would rather allow the powerful to retain their position than admit to a scenario in which a real loss of money, power or status can occur? Maybe our grip on our own material and circumstantial successes is so fragile that it clouds our ability to take a firm stand against those who deceive and cheat the system, since their fall from grace might signal that our own demise could be next. As our personal sense of responsibility decays, we forgive those whose missteps strike us as utterly human, thereby ensuring that deceit and corruption will prosper while we avert our eyes."

<snip>

"In formulating a plan of attack, some potential liars might be daunted by the countless books, many on the bestseller list, with titles about lies and lying: "Lies and the Lying Liars Who Tell Them," by Al Franken; "The Lies of George W. Bush," by David Corn; "The Five Biggest Lies Bush Told Us About Iraq," by Christopher Scheer; or "Big Lies," by Salon's own Joe Conason. Don't let such strident language deter you! America may be outraged and titillated by people who lie, we may have a sense that there's nothing worse than a liar, we may take pains to describe our shock and despair over the behavior of liars, but the more fire and brimstone we spout, the more callous the public becomes. "Everyone's lying!" they figure, and then vote for the guy with the nicest haircut. Once you're hosting a spot on the WWF or appearing on "60 Minutes" or signing books at Barnes and Noble, who's going to care what got you there? Such tales of redemption and reinvention are just too tantalizing to ignore, aligned as they are with the American dream.

All of which makes captured Pvt. Jessica Lynch all the braver for stepping up and rebutting the Pentagon-produced story of her as a pocket-size Rambo, "fighting to the end" -- instead of a deer caught in the enemy headlights whose gun jammed. But did the public embrace her for it? The TV movie on her tanked, and her own book (co-written by a writer who turned his own troubles with the truth into a fat book deal in a matter of months) was a sales disappointment. Poor Jessica. If she'd been paying attention, she would've ditched her quaint morals and gone with the flow. She would've understood that a lot of the time, Americans prefer to be lied to."

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I think Havrilesky is spot-on about why, among other things, it is so damned impossible to move public opinion about George Bush and his entire administration lying their way into a war.

I believe that Bush and his cabinet minions and advisors understand all too well that as long as none of the important players crack and own up to the facts that all the intelligence was cooked and that war with Iraq was preordained as soon as the Supreme Court unconstitutionally allowed the state of Florida to discontinue democracy in 2000, he and his cronies WILL get away with war in Iraq.

That's precisely why this issue is going to be such a tarbaby for whomever our nominee will be. Whether it's Dean or Clark or Edwards or Kerry or anyone else, the more the nominee will push on and struggle with this issue the more it will entrap them and prevent them from moving on to issues that are not as morally ambiguous as this one has become, issues like health care and the environment.

[Malva Zebrina]

1. If not a one brings up the tens of thousands who were murdered

and holds Bush responsible,I will be extremely disappointed. It is part of my angst over this invasion that few seem to care about all of those lives that Bush snuffed out with America's big bombs--thounsands of those lives had hardly begun.

Sorry--I never was one to follow the lemmings. If this is a cultural thing--I disown it. I can never accept a lie (s) such as Bush told because it is part of a culture that is geared toward competition (capitalism)--that, imo, I am beginning to think, is part of the problem and not a solution.

Thanks for posting this

[LoneStarLiberal]

2. One Very Interesting Bit..

One thing the author doesn't touch on but that I find very interesting is how we've come to accept lies that are in our personal favor or in the favor of our group, be it the Republican Party, the Baptist Church, or Acme Inc.

It's a fascinating social topology to consider.

[Cannikin]

3. Can you give me an example of what you mean?

What lies are 'we' believing in our favor? I, for one, am very objective, so if I've been led to believe a lie just because its in our favor, I'd like it pointed out so I can research it and decide for my self.

Thanks.