The Age of Lies.
Let someone else figure out what’s right or wrong. We’re in it for the sales. The rest will take care of itself.
“We swallow greedily any lie that flatters us, but we sip only little by little at a truth we find bitter.” Denis Diderot (1713–1784)
I’ve spent a lot of time with lies. I compare them to conventional warfare. Wars used to have rules, so did lies. Nobody cares now. You can betray those closest to you. You can cause a total disassociation with reality. What’s the worst that can happen? You’ll go to jail, and it’s not jail. Liars go to poorly run resorts.
We don’t take lies seriously because they aren’t confessions. You’re not absolving your sins. You’re simply doing what’s in your best interest.
Didn’t the strategist know that House speakers and the PMO work independently?
Las week in Canada, House speaker, Anthony Rota, made a grave mistake inviting a former Ukrainian Nazi veteran to Parliament during President Zelenskyy’s visit. The Conservatives blamed the prime minister for not vetting the invitation. One of their strategists was asked on a talk show if he was aware that House speakers and the PMO work independently?
“It’s just the way politics operates,” he said, claiming all parties have engaged in similar subterfuge over the years. “All I can say is,” he went on, “our popularity numbers are higher, Trudeau’s are lower. So, ultimately, it worked.”
Asked if lying should stop once a politician comes into office, he was noncommittal. Certainly tactics could change. Nobody wants a liar around all the time, although former President Trump seems to think they do.
On the first day of his latest civil fraud trial, he called it a “sham” and characterized Judge Arthur Engoron as a “rogue judge,” and New York Attorney General Letitia — who is Black — as “racist.”
Then he went on to say in a tweet— inaccurately, by the way — that one of the court assistants was Chuck Schumer’s girlfriend. The judge issued a gag order, but Trump isn’t easily gagged. He’ll express himself regardless, even if it means losing a possible $250 million libel suit.
They’ve had enough arguments in Walmart to know a good offense wins every time.
Well, it works with certain people. Those sticking with Trump no doubt think he has every right to rattle cages. They’ve had enough arguments in Walmart to know a good offense wins every time. Especially if you want the ninety-inch television on sale and it’s in someone else’s cart. This is America, bub, and you don’t get what you want sitting on your thumbs.
Trump feels the same way. He doesn’t mind running fast and loose. During an interview with Diane Sawyer, he explained that he had every right to take home classified documents. “I de-classified them while I was president,” he said. “I can do that.”
Turns out he couldn’t, and it only got more embarrassing when pictures emerged of mysterious boxes being stored in a Mar-a-Largo washroom. God knows what the man does with documents he doesn’t de-classify. There could be open sewers all over Mar-a-Largo, filled with papers floating out into the Gulf of Mexico.
Men like Trump live in a liar’s world, convinced they can do anything with enough bluster and charm. But is it actionable in a court of law?
Let’s look at a Fox News court case involving Tucker Carlson. At the trial, his own lawyers claimed you couldn’t believe anything coming out of Carlson’s mouth.
She stated that Carlson’s weekly comments were not actionable because he’s “hyperbolic,” which is more of a giggle than actionable.
The presiding U.S. District Judge, Mary Kay Vyskocil, an appointee of President Trump’s, wrote: “Fox persuasively argues, that given Mr. Carson’s reputation, any reasonable viewer arrives with an appropriate amount of skepticism about the statement he makes.” She stated that Carlson’s weekly comments were not actionable because he’s “hyperbolic,” which is more of a giggle than actionable.
That’s not to say all hyperbole gets you off the hook. Steve Bannon, former Chief Strategist to President Trump, has been fired, jailed and sent packing for his “hyperbolic” statements. Even Trump dumped him.
It didn’t help that Bannon called Ivanka “dumb as a brick” as if that was news to anybody. Bannon thinks other people are dumb as bricks, too, including former president George W. Bush.
“He’s the stupidest president of all time,” Bannon stated, after Bush claimed Islam “was a peaceful religion.” The far right — still fans of Bannon — think he’s on the mark, and the sooner we fill the Middle East with bullets the better.
Maybe not to the extent of Trump or Bannon, but they’ve crossed more truth barriers than migrants crossing the Mexican border.
Well, that’s how liars survive these days. Throw in the hyperbole and if anyone questions your motives, just say you were only fooling. Eight times out of ten, the judge will probably believe you. Freedom of expression does allow for hyperbole. Maybe not to the extent of Trump or Bannon, but they’ve crossed more truth barriers than migrants crossing the Mexican border.
Lies are like bargains, attracting those who think retail is for weenies. It’s possible the American Dream has been replaced by the Walmart Dream. The great analogy of life is shopping. We can deal with things if we stock up. It’s only when we’re hungry or can’t afford the rent that things turn ugly. Many feel that won’t happen with Trump around. He keeps everything plastic wrapped, at one low price.
Anyone who says, “A bargain isn’t really a bargain,” doesn’t understand the world today. We’re not fact checkers here. We want what we want. Maybe, as Hunter S. Thompson once said, “These are the songs of the doomed.” So we’re doomed? It’s better to have a bargain than go home empty-handed.
If the American Dream comes to an end, it won’t be nuclear war or wayward Islamist terrorists, it’ll be lies.
That’s just the way things are. You don’t have to think about it too much. In fact, these days, the less you think the better. This is the age of lies afterall. If the American Dream comes to an end, it won’t be nuclear war or wayward Islamist terrorists, it’ll be lies. The sooner we all accept it, the sooner we can go shop. Let someone else figure out what’s right or wrong. We’re in it for the sales. The rest will take care of itself.
