At one time or another, just about everyone lies. Lying is so commonplace the English language has dozens of words to describe it. At one end, we have the exaggerations, bluffing, fisherman’s tales, stretching the truth, telling tales, fibbing, and paltering. Most of us have done this a few times in our lives. In fact, people sometimes invite us to do this, as when they ask “How do I look?” or “Do you think I lost any weight?”
At the other end of the scale, we have falsifying, perjury, duplicity, fabricating, double-dealing, prevaricating, deceiving, and perfidity. Most of us have never done any of these things, and we usually don’t associate ourselves with anyone who does.
Even the word “lie” has its nuances. At one end we have the “honest lie”, “jocose lie”, “white lie”, “noble lie”, “polite lie”, and the ‘butler’s lie”. These are mostly unintentional or at worst, not meant to harm anyone or to be self-serving. The opposite side of the spectrum gives us the lies that are “barefaced”, “boldfaced”, “big”, “self-serving” and “through your teeth”. These are the lies that normally offend people.
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Lying has occupational correlates. We don’t expect to hear lies from our lawyers, physicians, or mental health professionals. On the other hand, we don’t find it unusual at all to hear that someone was the victim of a lie when taking their car in for service, or getting an estimate on home repairs, or investing in a real estate scheme.
Then there’s the politicians. Everyone comes to expect lies from politicians, but we don’t expect them when they come from duly elected representatives. On the campaign trail, (sad to say) we’ve come to expect hyperbole and exaggeration as tools of the trade for a politician looking for office. But once they’re in office, we put them to a higher standard, and thus the lies told by public officials come to be heartily felt. If I asked you to give me an example of a memorable lie, you’ll probably recall the lies told by public officials more so than any other category.
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Take a second before reading on and recall the most famous lies you’ve heard.
Your top 5 will probably include a few of these -
Bill Clinton’s “I did not have sexual relations with that woman”
Richard Nixon’s “I am not a crook”
John Edwards denial of an affair
Donald Rumsfeld’s claim to have found WMD
George Bush’s vow “Read my lips - No New Taxes”
LBJ’s claim that the U.S. was attacked in the Gulf of Tonkin
Lying from public officials is a serious thing, although not entirely unexpected.
In the past year there have been so many lies told by members of the Lake Forest City Council that I am beginning a multi-part series, unveiling the lies, and at the end, we’ll get the chance to vote for the “Biggest Liar”. From time to time we’ve explored this issue as the lies have surfaced, but what will be amazing now that we look at the patterns, is how often they come up and how many there are.
This series is not meant to embarrass anyone or to hold them up to public scorn. It’s meant to inform the public about what’s going on in City Hall, and it’s also done in the hopes that this year will see far fewer lies.
Next week our first series begins. Meanwhile, if you’re aware of any lies told by City Council members, please comment here or e-mail me at DrJGardner@gmail.com
