I don't see anyone on the 'net saying anything new or interesting today about the guy in the White House…so no Trump Dump today.
Well, there is this. My buddy Steve Stoliar sent me this link to an article by David Suissa that discusses lying in politics as opposed to bullshit. On some level, I think that's a distinction without a difference…but Trump does seem to be on kind of a roll with some people when it comes to selling them an alternate reality in which they want to live. There are folks out there who can still look at the photos of the National Mall during Obama's first inauguration and Trump's first (and let's hope, only) inauguration and say, "Yep! Donald had a lot more people at his!"
I think though we sometimes devalue the word "lie" by applying it to anything your opponent says that you can possibly spin as untrue. Years ago, a gent who worked for the National Weather Service told me, "We'll predict a 60% chance of rain for Los Angeles…and then even if it rains in the valley but not in the basin, we hear from people in the basin who accuse us of lying. Not even of being wrong, which we weren't. They say we lied."
As a staunch believer in the maxim, "Never attribute to deviousness, that which can be explained by incompetence," I often think the "L" word is inapplicable. People — even people I don't like — do make mistakes. They misspeak. Or they make logical assumptions which turn out to be wrong. A lot of people have jumped on Trump for spelling the word "tap" with two P's in a recent, infamous tweet. These are apparently people who never made a typo themselves.
For months, a lot of pundits were haranguing the press for not using the word "lie" to describe certain statements made by Trump or his surrogates and some reporters are now using it. I dunno how I feel about that. I think false statements by prominent people need to be more clearly identified as such…but saying someone lied suggests a conscious intent to deceive that may not always be present. People do sometimes earnestly believe some pretty ridiculous things. If your neighbor told you he saw Elvis Presley and Bigfoot having sex on your front lawn last night, would you accuse him of lying? That's probably not the right word.
I'm not suggesting untrue statements should not be denounced as untrue. It's just that the word "lie" has become too casual in some circles to be effective, plus it can also be lucrative…or effective. Trump and Ted Cruz, when they were competing for the Republican nomination, both routinely called each other pathological liars. Trump kept referring to "Lyin' Ted." Now, because a relationship seems mutually beneficial, they're dining together and praising each other and Donald hasn't said a word lately about Cruz's wife being homely or his father killing John F. Kennedy.
David Suissa's article is a real "think piece," at least for me. I haven't drawn any firm conclusions from it but I'm going to spend some time pondering it. The man makes some good points and cites some interesting examples. I sure hope he isn't lying about them.