“I really know nothing more criminal than lying. It is the production either of malice, cowardice, or vanity; and generally misses its aim in every one of these views; for lies are always detected, sooner or later. If I tell a malicious lie, in order to affect any man's character, I may indeed injure him; but I shall be sure to be the greatest sufferer myself at last for as soon as ever I am detected I am; blasted for the infamous attempt.”
— Chesterfield
CHESTERFIELD, LORD, ( PHILIP DORMER STAN hope,) born in London, September 22, 1694; an English author and courtier, distinguished for his highly polished manners, extensive acquirements, and versatile talents; died, March 24, 1773.
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Here is nothing new to bring up, it’s as old as human speech no doubt, but the toxicity of it all now, being amplified and being spread by willing, knowing perpetrators has set fire to the fabric of curtains of our American home, and we must deal with it, all of us,
As I child a razor strap hanging in the closet, my Dad’s who was then using a handheld razor for his whiskers having stopped using the straight razor was kept the strap for children’s lies, we knew it was there, and tried to avoid its blows, tell the truth now for less future discipline, that the overarching lesson to me,
So personally I have a dim view of liars, especially those old enough to know better, didn’t their parents care, I wonder, or were they the unfortunates growing up steeped in lies themselves, it was business as usual to their mentors,
One can’t parent an older person claiming adulthood who deals in lies of course, that opportunity left long ago, we can only make it uncomfortable for them to continue in their ways.
So it’s back to the basics, old time quotes from Lord Chesterfield must be re-established, the Boy who Cried Wolf, nursery tales for the needing,
One can easily find instances of right-wing and left-wing authoritarians lying systematically to their people to gain or strengthen power,
It seems this is not enough for many people, they cannot seem to connect the dots to such historical events, even when repeated daily,
So it’s back to basics for us, this may be our only help for the nation besieged by pathological lying at a firestorm’s intensity.
Morality seems only to apply to the bedroom for so very many, a forgiving God is theirs, a god of forgiveness for irresponsible actions such as lying for power,
It’s tragic that the weakening of America by the “patriotic liar” is what we are face first with today, it doesn’t bode well for this country’s civilization,
Thy shall not bear false witness, one could write a Christian sermon for them easily with many references to scripture, probably a Muslim or of Judaism (or many others) one as well, but their hands would go over their ears to such, unteachable they may be,
To them it’s only a technique which has some success toward an end, they who are unwilling to change a worldview of rather sick proportions, the cowardice, the maliciousness and vanity of their lying is present,
Their circuitry is perhaps different, perhaps the truth wire is missing, regardless - it’s unacceptable to spout lie after lie,
We only see the outcome, the lie, and the hundreds of future lies they must speak in unionson to keep their house of cards standing,
Must we dissect each and every falsehood for its putrid essence, they may wish we do so, as they lie in quantity not quality at this time, overwhelm them with propaganda,
One can only hope that the lies will catch up to each one of them, as Chesterfield says they will,
But shame is not an option to the dregs, they only wish to find a more effective lie to tell, it’s a habit awarded for,
They are robots of dishonesty on every front, and they have the resources doled out to them to continue in the effort,
The shamelessness is the real epidemic, throughout their ranks, top to bottom, I’ve done shameful things certainly, I did not ignore the shame however,
A future based on such moral decribity is no future of any worth, when the fundamentals of human decency are to them only roadblocks,
They fear no razor strap, they fear loss of power and of continued wealth unhampered by the little guy, by those of a certain caste level within their minds,
It is only a sad commentary on the country, the rightness of the many is overwhelmed by the destructive force of a few, the ignorance of some, and the indifference of too many.
At the heart of the matter is the undesirable product which is trying to be sold, forty years of deceit are not working as well now,
Many a used car salesman has said such and such a car belonged to their grandmother, who only drove it to church on Sunday,
As a group they are selling refrigerators to millions of us Inuit, or that is their job at hand,
So the understanding of the motives are quite easily, there is a reason behind it all we realize.
“If you do not know how to lie, cheat, and steal, turn your attention to politics and learn.”
— H. W. Shaw.
SHAW, HENRY W., (Josh Billings,) born in Berkshire county, Massachusetts, 1818; an American author and humorous writer.
Perhaps it is only the comedy of politics as Shaw states it is, but was he exposed to our current deluge of lies, I’m doubtful he was,
Pinocchio is a story we can all relate to, it amuses us, but most who listen to the story, watch the Disney version grasp the societal intolerance of lying, and its effects on the liar themselves, the nose only grows, an impediment to contentment, and only growing more obvious to the public,
The current political ranks are overflowing with mass lying, unapologetic lying, one must view the current political process as unworkable,
The bad rise first in it, that is so obvious,
Seems that humor is a way to handle the lying in a way of good mental health, but it must not let the liars off the hook, should it?
“If any man seeks for greatness, let him forget greatness and ask for truth, and he will find both.”
— Horace Munn.
The identity of “Horace Munn” is uncertain from the reference The Dictionary of Thought, Tryon Edwards, 1908. It may actually be Horace Mann (1796-1859), often called the Father of the Common School, began his career as a lawyer and legislator. When he was elected to act as Secretary of the newly-created Massachusetts Board of Education in 1837, he used his position to enact major educational reform.
Lofty words from Munn (Mann), it seems to bear out true in practice most certainly at all levels of our human experience, all our lessons learned in elementary school and by our parents should indicate this as indeed one of truth,
But it is only idealism certainly in the end, but our sights must be on an appropriate target for our country to survive, a higher one,
The low target of lying incessantly is not that bullseye, clearly this must be apparent by now?
I still fear the razor strap, that is why I wrote this.
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24th posting, March 16, 2023.