THE YEAR OF THE LIE
This is the time of year when we review our “best of” lists and reflect on the year just completed. I do not have any best-of-lists since the year was full of shit lists. I couldn’t help it —- it just sounded right. Actually, there was, a few notable “best of’s” in my world. In the dining category, Bell’s, SY Kitchen, Handlebar, and Pony Espresso did more than just survive. They maintained the quality of their offering while continuing to respect their employees and clients during the pandemic. In the floral category, Renae’s Bouguet and Main Street continued to put out great beauty even without weddings. With those notable exceptions, the world moved slowly through lockdown while most of us preferred to have just skipped the year entirely. The most stunning beneficiary of the pandemic was the environment. Although temporary I am sure the earth appreciated the chance to catch its breath before we continue to plunder its bounty.
The US election, Covid-19 dominated the headlines and occupied the airwaves, but for me, 2020 is THE YEAR OF THE LIE… I am sure some people have never told a lie; but, I would suspect that the large majority have told a lie or two or at a minimum omitted the truth. The omission of the truth is certainly a part of our culture and present daily. However, this year was the “year of the lie” by virtue of the current administration’s adherence to “the lie”. It is incredible when you think there was literally nothing truthful to come from Spicer, Sarah Sanders, Grisham, McEnany as press secretaries representing their boss. McConnel perfected the telling of a lie without actually lying. The most recent example “There is no realistic path to pass a $2000 relief bill.” Lyndsay Graham lied concerning the swearing-in of a Supreme Court Justice. The Donald has told so many lies I think The New York Times gave up keeping count. I could continue pointing out the obvious that every member of the current administration has used the lie as the foundation of its relationship with the world and the citizens of this country. What is tragic about the depth of lying as the basis of communication is these mistruths are recast as the truth. We become complicit to the lie. We might recognize the lie as misstating the truth; but, when we continue to elect people who lie, we are giving explicit approval to the lie as a form of communication. The truth becomes unrecognizable. There are many examples of our political leaders making a mockery of the truth as a convenient way to remain in office. What made this year different was the unbridled use of the lie as a form of factual reporting. Even when presented with clear evidence of the falsehood our leaders continue to restate the lie and thus it masquerades as the truth.
The sad result of all of these false statements is the challenge of sorting out the truth. More stunning and perplexing is the acceptance of the lie as it is. As a culture, we are not willing to disregard the lie as a falsehood that no longer needs to be recognized as viable. Instead, we perpetuate the lie and we defend the lie. Now when I say “we” I am referring in principle to those people elected to guide our country. There clearly are people who recognize the lies that infiltrate our culture but those voices are somehow muted and often ineffective. This year the lie became the loudest voice and the most defended. Truth has taken a back seat in the national discourse.
“I’m not upset that you lied to me, I’m upset that from now on I can’t believe you.”…