WORDS MATTER, ACTIONS EVEN MORE

Yes words do matter, any married man can tell you that. The challenge is using the right words at the right time within the proper context, social setting or group. The current requirement to choose words so carefully creates tension between being politically incorrect or just a jerk.

It was my original intention to share my thoughts regarding the fact that “Our President Is a Liar.” The target is too easy. Majority of the electorate believes that Trump has lied. Others simply believe he tweets too much.

 The question I intended to raise:

Is Donald Trump the most pathological liar of the modern presidency?

It is simply pandering to a democratic voter. It can be discussed ad nauseum. The Washington Post thinks so, reported that Trump made 3,251 “false or misleading claims” during his first 497 days in office. That’s an average of more than 6.5 “falsehoods” a day. The New York Times agrees, providing what it called a definitive list of “outright lies” during the president’s first 10 months that amounted to a daily public “lie” for the first 40 days of his presidency. But don’t pay attention to that, it is simply “fake news”.

Today’s challenge is how to determine the accountability of our leadership in context of the constant denial of facts. Facts that seem to have alternatives and different meanings depending on who was examining. We are an era of “fake news” which is the response of President Trump depending on the message he is trying to promote to his base.

Yes, words do matter, and they especially matter when pronounced by the leadership of this country. regardless of political party – Democrat or Republican, et.al. – depending where one stands in the spectrum of ideology – liberal, conservative, far right, far left, and all the shades in between. There is always been skepticism of the American public as to what comes out of the mouth of politicians. At times, we must remember that there are nuances of policies, programs and philosophies. An informed voter should evaluate, statements of any politician depending on their context. Is it a statement designed they denigrate their opponents? Is it a statement to advance their agenda? Is it a statement responding to the criticism of the public or their political adversary? We must parse the intent based on vocabulary, setting and delivery. But at no time should we accept alternate facts or outright lying. Most Americans can see the difference between an out-and-out lie and self-evident hyperbole, even if the mainstream press and Trump’s political opponents cannot or will not.

History is fraught with examples of elected officials presenting the truth in false terms for the benefit of their political advancement. There have been the downright lies of deniability from the White House. just about all presidents at least “fudge the truth”.

In the case of Nixon, “I am not a crook” Watergate may have been the high tide of presidential lying.

If you are in my generation, those who were drafted in the Vietnam war error we may consider that Lyndon B. Johnson was the most consequential presidential liar.

“We are not about to send American boys 9 or 10 thousand miles away from home to do what Asian boys ought to be doing for themselves.”

Others believe that George W. Bush relentlessly abused the truth. As he
Brazenly mischaracterizing intelligence and resorting to deceptive arguments to whip up public support for war with Iraq.

“Intelligence gathered by this and other governments leaves no doubt that the Iraq regime continues to possess and conceal some of the most lethal weapons ever devised.”

Then there is, President Bill Clinton who denied having sex with Monica Lewinsky

“I want to say one thing to the American people. I want you to listen to me. I’m going to say this again. I did not have sexual relations with that woman, Miss Lewinsky. I never told anybody to lie, not a single time, never. These allegations are false, and I need to go back to work for the American people,”

in my day, as a Catholic school student. Lying was considered a mortal sin or least venial, giving us some lab latitude to tell fibs.) There used to be a time when the TV program started with the presidential seal and the words “my fellow Americans” that we expected to be told the truth, unadulterated rock- solid truth. Today after a handful of commercials and touting of the commentary by talking heads to follow. We are then told what we heard and what it means with a bias toward either a liberal or conservative agenda of a particular network.

I have come to basic realization that too many political stories, particularly cable news has the same sterility as political campaigns. There is an over-reliance on polling data and electoral math. In my opinion, you simply end up with a media narrative that is as unrelated to the public that should rely on it to come to the wrong conclusion.

The news on TV is no longer simply the reading of the news as reported. I grew up with Walter Cronkite, admiring him from the time I watched his image flickering on a small black-and-white set. He was the voice of authority in an age when we still revered, without a trace of cynicism, those who read us the news.

So how do we separate the lies that matter to the political massaging of the truth? It is not just a matter of selecting the TV channel or radio station that is coincided with your political belief system. There’s more to it than that. Time must be taken to cut through the political noise and strip it down to factual statements. It is a commitment to inform yourself beyond the soundbites, the latest meme posted on Facebook or Tweet. Maybe, you just may have to return to the active reading newspaper whether in print or on your iPad. It may even require you to review the facts and positions presented by an author to come to your own conclusions. Not easy to do in this world of constant media clatter and promulgated need of instant gratification.

Take your time. Think it through. Develop a position. Analyze the social and political issues in their context, not isolated soundbites. This may even require reading publications that are either conservative or liberal. Nothing wrong with seeing both sides of the issue. It may be a way to become an informed voter