Today is October 20. That means there are just two weeks until US election day. And that means there are just two more weeks of having to listen to politicians lie about each other and themselves. Two more weeks and it might be safe to watch the TV news again.
There are different kinds of lies, which is why—when you testify in a US court—you must swear to tell "the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth." Other countries have a similar oath.
- Tell the truth: don't lie.
- Tell the whole truth: don't omit an important fact that might change the meaning or significance of your other testimony.
- Tell nothing but the truth: don't embellish the facts. Don't add your opinion, your interpretation, etc.
Unfortunately, those courtroom rules don't apply to political ads. It is possible to distort facts, to tell a part of the truth, to insert opinion as fact. Product advertisements do this all the time; why should political ads be different? Add to this the fact that people tend to believe what they want to believe, anyway. They filter what they see through the lens of their own prejudices.
Two more weeks of "baloney" and we will get a respite for a while. As Winston Churchill said in the House of Commons:
Many forms of Government have been tried, and will be tried in this world of sin and woe. No one pretends that democracy is perfect or all-wise. Indeed it has been said that democracy is the worst form of Government except for all those other forms that have been tried from time to time.…
Lacking a better mechanism for appointing rulers, we keep at it, hoping we'll get it (democratic government) right one day, hoping it will evolve into something where ratiocination and sound judgement rule our governance. In the meantime, we have what we have. Some might call it bread and circuses.
3 comments:
Thanks for putting into words how many of us feel. Hopefully, we can find a cure for Covid-19 but I don't believe we'll ever find a cure for corrupt politicians or fake news.
LL
What a puzzle! One candidate is 74 years old and the other one almost 80 years old. People have to pay attention to whom we will choose here and most important, who will be the vice president too. Do you think that these candidates will have the guts, wisdom, to lead and guide our country honestly of the people, by the people and for the people?
We have two weeks to think about it.
Good luck!
TA
Dear TA
Both candidates are getting on in years --but we have only those choices ---it's sad and I believe well planned by the two parties --- I don't believe Biden will be calling the shots --it will be whomever is pulling his strings. I think Trump is so overwhelmed with distrust of his own team that it cripples him. I think his distrust is well founded.
It's not a hard decision given our choices -- so this makes the VP candidate even more important.
LL
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