Why do we tolerate lies?

[Jasmine]

First of all, I hope we can agree that most (if not all) politicians lie. From Trump to Biden to Kamala to Clinton to both Bushes to Obama to your average city councilman, our public servants have a knack for outright lying or “stretching” the truth.

My question is, why do we, the voting public, allow them to get away with it?

Personally, I believe that our expectations for our leaders have sunk so low that lying has simply become part of the political game. We shrug our shoulders and say, “Oh, well, everybody does it.”

Even worse, we tend to point out the lies of the opposing party’s candidates and conveniently disregard those of “our side.”

I guess my question is, What do we do about it?

A. Do nothing and just acknowledge the fact that everyone lies.

B. Take steps to hold all politicians to a higher standard.

I realize this is a very broad subject. Just curious to hear your thoughts.

[Vrede too]

First of all, I hope we can agree that most (if not all) politicians lie. From Trump to Biden to Kamala to Clinton to both Bushes to Obama to your average city councilman, our public servants have a knack for outright lying or “stretching” the truth.

My question is, why do we, the voting public, allow them to get away with it?

Personally, I believe that our expectations for our leaders have sunk so low that lying has simply become part of the political game. We shrug our shoulders and say, “Oh, well, everybody does it.”

Even worse, we tend to point out the lies of the opposing party’s candidates and conveniently disregard those of “our side.”

I guess my question is, What do we do about it?

A. Do nothing and just acknowledge the fact that everyone lies.

B. Take steps to hold all politicians to a higher standard.

I realize this is a very broad subject. Just curious to hear your thoughts.

My expectations for our leaders have sunk so low that lying has simply become part of the political game. I shrug my shoulders and say, “Oh, well, everybody does it.”


HOWEVER, Dolt .45 took the lying to an extreme unprecedented in American politics, culminating in the 2020 election Big Lie that led to the J6 insurrection and his entire 2024 campaign

What do we do about it?

Personally, a hybrid of A and B. I accept that little will change, but I strive to vote for the candidate who lies the least.

[GoCubsGo]

Lies based on facts or stretching the truth had been the norm since I can remember.

I don't like it either, sometimes they actually are held accountable but mostly not.

Making crap up like "babies are being aborted after birth in six states is legal" is beyond the pale can only be stopped from within and the king's subjects must collectively tell the Emperor he has no clothes.

[Vrede too]

Lies based on facts or stretching the truth had been the norm since I can remember.

I don't like it either, sometimes they actually are held accountable but mostly not.

Making crap up like "babies are being aborted after birth in six states is legal" is beyond the pale can only be stopped from within and the king's subjects must collectively tell the Emperor he has no clothes.

Have you met MAGA?


Speaking of dishonesty:


'What the f***': Woman reacts to pro-Trump accounts stealing her identity

Russians?

[GoCubsGo]

Have you met MAGA?


Speaking of dishonesty:


Russians?

I didn't say I was optimistic it would happen.

This cycle Iran seems to be the bad actor, but Russia would be no surprise.

[O Really]

In the kindest view, politicians have always engaged in exaggeration and hyperbole and have tried to paint their opponents in bad light. They have also attempted to make themselves look as good as possible, not unlike people do with their resumes or dating app profile. We can say "slippery slope" but these types of lies don't do a lot of damage because people know they're not really totally true. Then you've got statements that started out being campaign "promises" that didn't work out so we say the politician lied. "He said he was going to fix all the potholes, but we've still got potholes so he lied." (nevermind that there are way fewer potholes now than when he took office) Then there are statements taken out of context and converted to "lies." Obama was accused of lying about healthcare because he said "if you like your doctor you can keep your doctor" and nobody remembered the rest, "if your doctor chooses to stay on the health plan you choose." But then we get to a lot of what we have today. Totally made up shit with no basis of truth whatsoever, presented in a believable form and distributed widely. Stuff that is easily debunked, yet repeated as truth.
I've never known lying to be so rampant - worse in many ways than the governmental propaganda we've all learned about in China, Russia, etc.

And I don't know there is anything "we" can do about it. It would help if the media didn't cover ridiculousness as if it were meaningful. It would help if people learned to check and verify and apply a little critical thinking, but unfortunately that seems to be going the other way.

I dunno. just take care of ourselves, I guess.

[O Really]

Upon further consideration, I'd say the reason we put up with lying politicians is that we put up with lying from a lot of people in our life. Employers, sales people, clergy, spouses, yada the list goes on. Honesty is pretty much in short supply.

[Jasmine]

I dunno. just take care of ourselves, I guess.

That pretty much sums up my approach, I think. We can’t control what others do, so we should just take care of ourselves and our loved ones.