"Joe Wilson, you were so far out in front of the rest of us!"
Oh, I can remember the days in school of learning about veracity and leadership. In particular, how George Washington could not tell a lie. It may have been part myth, but it was a great teachable moment. As they would say in a cigarette commercial a long time ago, "We have come a long way, baby!"
In September of 2009, President Obama stood in the Well of the House and told one of his whoppers on immigration reform. Representative Joe Wilson (R-SC) could hardly believe his ears. When the President said "Immigration reform would not apply to illegal immigrants", he had heard enough. "You lie!" he shouted out. It was a show stopper for many. Some called him a racist. Some wanted him censured. Some wanted a fate even worse for poor old Joe.
What have we found out over the years? Lying is a pattern with this crowd. Turns out old Joe might have been right in 2009. Veracity and truth telling seem to have gone out with the Leisure Suits. The "low information" crowd continues to be easily cowed by this unrelenting and non-stop sophism. However, those who are awake are startled to see the depth and width of today's lies.
The result is predictable - very few of the "informed" believe ANYTHING this government tells us. It seems the only truth tellers these days are the generals running the Pentagon. Everyone else in the State Department, HHS, or the White House are trying to woo us using nothing more than pixie dust and happy juice.
The biggest victim of these non-stop lies continues to be the truth. It is the lack of faith and most of all, confidence that people have in their government. More and more, many feel as if they are being controlled and lied to in a fashion similar to the dystopia that Orwell painted in 1949. No, veracity has become something to be used only as a high scoring word in scrabble. Truth tellers are in short supply and I don't know if they will ever come back.
As our nation once again teeters over entering the boiling cauldron of the Middle East, we need truth tellers more than ever. We need to know who and why we are fighting. We need entrance and exit strategies. We need a Collin Powell plan for a quick and decisive victory, not the Bob McNamara path which leads to a prolonged and costly defeat. We need to let our generals be the war fighters, not the "flower children" of the 60's, nor the community organizers from the 80's.
"Liar, liar, pants on fire. Your nose is longer than a telephone wire." Good rhyme for kids, but bad policy for leaders. We need to straighten up and fly straight. This one might be for all the marbles.
The result is predictable - very few of the "informed" believe ANYTHING this government tells us. It seems the only truth tellers these days are the generals running the Pentagon. Everyone else in the State Department, HHS, or the White House are trying to woo us using nothing more than pixie dust and happy juice.
The biggest victim of these non-stop lies continues to be the truth. It is the lack of faith and most of all, confidence that people have in their government. More and more, many feel as if they are being controlled and lied to in a fashion similar to the dystopia that Orwell painted in 1949. No, veracity has become something to be used only as a high scoring word in scrabble. Truth tellers are in short supply and I don't know if they will ever come back.
As our nation once again teeters over entering the boiling cauldron of the Middle East, we need truth tellers more than ever. We need to know who and why we are fighting. We need entrance and exit strategies. We need a Collin Powell plan for a quick and decisive victory, not the Bob McNamara path which leads to a prolonged and costly defeat. We need to let our generals be the war fighters, not the "flower children" of the 60's, nor the community organizers from the 80's.
"Liar, liar, pants on fire. Your nose is longer than a telephone wire." Good rhyme for kids, but bad policy for leaders. We need to straighten up and fly straight. This one might be for all the marbles.
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