Make lying unacceptable again

By Jim Thompson
HCP columnist

Some of you will look at this headline and think I am talking about Republicans. Some will look at it and think I am talking about Democrats. You are both correct.  

The pandemic in the world today is lying.

Likely the only demographic where one does not see lying is those under 4 years old. I would estimate the demographic with the highest proportion of lying is somewhere between 35 and 60, except for politicians, where lying often continues until they die.

Why do people lie?  

Convenience. Personal gain. Avoid punishment. Self-aggrandizement. 

Yet, one of the major reasons people lie is because we let them. Civilized people think ignoring the liars is the right thing to do. This only encourages them. The usual reaction of a liar when called out is to bite back – protesting the accusation of lying is unfair, or false on its own merits.

Liars turn into litigious people – talking about a comma here, a word there, accusing their accusers of being picky or too precise. The idea is to embarrass or harass the accuser off the stage, so to speak.

I think we need to raise lying to the level of high crimes and misdemeanors. Politicians, especially, should be held to account for all they say and do.  

The last president who made a big deal out of this, to my recollection, was Jimmy Carter, who said he would never lie to us. I don’t know if his truth-telling made him into a one-term president, but I remember at the time that people thought he was a little too honest.

Does Carter’s honesty destroy my case? I don’t think so, it just makes him stand out in a long line of liars.

Business is no better, maybe even worse. If a company is in need of employees with a certain skill set, they will often tell candidates anything to get them on board. Then, if conditions change, they will tell employees anything to get them to leave, especially without a severance package.  

Both the business and the political venues leave people cynical and in the mood to try the same thing themselves.

The last area I want to bring up is marriage. Simply, long marriages have little lying. Short marriages often have much lying. Lying leads to mistrust. Mistrust leads to separation.

If you have developed the habit of lying to make life easier, I urge you stop. If you are around others who lie, perhaps you can get them to counseling.

Lying is ugly, and it is destroying our country.

Jim Thompson, formerly of Marshall, is a graduate of Hillsboro High School and the University of Cincinnati. He resides in Duluth, Ga. and is a columnist for The Highland County Press.