Because such is conducive to maintaining and growing power. If justice is the goal, honesty is a necessity. If power is the goal, honesty is a hindrance.
I remember it like it was yesterday, my father telling me the story of Francis Gary Powers. The Soviets shot down his U2 spy plane over Soviet territory. Our military experts believed Soviet anti-aircraft weapons could not touch the U2 and that should one be shot down, there was no way the pilot could survive. Soviet Premier Khrushchev publicly asked President Eisenhower if we’d lost a pilot. Eisenhower lied. And Khruschev revealed Powers, alive and in Soviet custody.
My father described it as a life-changing moment. Not because of the plane. Not because we were spying. But because the President undeniably lied to America. It wasn’t the first time. Nor would it be the last. There’s a reason for this nugget- How can you tell when a politician is lying? His lips move. Perhaps the more important question is, why does lying “work?” Here are a few reasons.
1. Because we forget. When mid-terms roll we will forget about old lies. Those who lied to us about President Biden’s mental health will not have to answer for it. Those who promised criminal charges against Epstein clients will not have to answer for it. Outrage over lies has the shelf-life gas station sushi in Death Valley.
2. Supporters don’t care and opponents can’t do a thing about it. This, as with the lying itself, crosses party lines. We don’t vote out our guys who lie. Their guys, we weren’t going to vote for them anyway.
3. Because we are usually too ignorant to tell. Whether it be ignorance of basic logic, basic economics, or basic statistics, we are bereft of the capacity to distinguish truth from falsehood. Most of us were educated by government schools which are designed to make us incredulous. Don’t ever let them tell you that “our” schools are failing. They always hit their goals. They make of us exactly what they hope to.
4. Because we don’t even believe in truth. If there is no true truth, truth that is true whether we believe it or not, there can be no falsehood. “Everyone gets to make up their own truth” is the most widespread creed in all of the western world. Thirty-five years ago Anita Hill accused Clarence Thomas of sexual harassment. Justice Thomas denied it. The weirdest part of the whole drama was when then Senator Biden publicly claimed that they were both telling the truth.
5. Because we care more about how politicians look when they say something than how what they say looks in the light of the truth. Not just the politicians, but we who vote for them are consumed with image. As one elder politician said to an aspiring politician, “Sincerity- if you can fake that, you’ve got it made.”
Once again Christians squander the opportunity to stand out in contrast to the world. Were we people of truth, if it mattered to us, it would matter to those courting our votes. Until it does matter to us, we’ll continue to be lied to.