“Time To Get Out The Knitting Needles, Madam DeFarge?”

I am a great believer in the value of social conventions, our adherence to which helps us maintain some semblance of a civilized society. Some are more definite than others, but that is inherent in the dynamics of the way we think and live.

There is one of those conventions, which I hold to be inviolate. That is lying and all of its many manifestations. I simply don’t trust anyone who resorts to lying as a way of getting on within a civilized society. If we look around us today, it is endemic in virtually every aspect of our existence. I don’t think that is because we are less aware of the importance of telling the truth, but that lying is looked upon with less disdain than in the past. Lying has just become a part of our every day life and we are no longer particularly shocked by it. It seems to have become acceptable to the point that it is rare for anyone to be particularly disturbed by it. Everyone does it, so what is the big deal? I think our disregard for honoring truth as a vital part of our personal and collective integrity has cost us dearly, in terms of our expectations and the sanctions for failing to respect that basic tenet.

Lying has evolved into an art form designed to dupe us into accepting a system of beliefs based, not on fact, but on what others want us to believe. Facts are the basis of knowledge; beliefs are predicated on self-deception. It is not what is, but what we want it to be that is the goal of those seeking to manipulate us for their own evil and greedy ends.

The heart of American advertising, Madison Avenue, is based on the elevation of lying as to art form. They have created and honed our appetites for material goods and services by leading us to believe that we cannot live without what they are peddling, the veracity of their claims notwithstanding. That has spilled over into the media of television and entertainment in all its forms. Moreover, we fall for it. Think about it. They want us to believe things that are simply not true. Why do we permit advertising for prescription drugs in the popular press, despite the fact that consumers cannot purchase them without first seeing a physician? They want to whet our appetites so the drug companies can enhance their profits! Why is it necessary for oil companies, defense contractors, etc. to advertise in the popular press? Because they want us to believe that those in government, acting on our behalf, really are doing the right thing, so corporations can make more money! It is simple, unbridled greed folks! Moreover, we fall for it.

Look at what has happened to our values. Sex permeates every aspect of advertising and entertainment. Bare-chested men and scantily clad women lead us to believe that our wildest and basest desires are legitimate and, in order to be a part of the “in” crowd, we just have to have what they are peddling. It isn’t necessarily because it “is” good for us, but it is because we have come to “believe” that it is. For example, if a hemline up to the cheeks of a woman’s ass is attractive, I will put in with you. Look at how the poor fools, sitting in the honored chair on Jay Leno’s and David Letterman’s shows sit there, constantly pulling at their hemlines lest the audience gets a glimpse of the real deal. What, I ask you, is becoming about that. It is self-deprecating and pathetic. But, God forbid, we might have the courage to be what we “are” instead of what “they” have led us to believe.

I think lying figures prominently in the demise of the institutions that are there to serve us as a people. To the extent we don’t hold them to those standards, the more blatant they become in resorting to the use of lies as a tool for personal gain. Let’s just focus on what is currently going on around us and what it is doing to the majority of the American people.

It is presumed that all politicians lie. That just goes with the territory. However, what happens when those lies become so egregious as to compromise the very fabric of our government, and the collective detriment of the people of this country? That is when we suddenly realize we have lost control of the very institutions that are there to serve us, not them.

Take the Office of the President. Going back to the administration of Lyndon Johnson and the Vietnam War, lying became an instrument of power and the pursuit of empire. It has continued, unabated, ever since. It has flourished because we, the people, have accepted it. We have come to believe that, because we voted them into office, they are honest and noble, with our best interests at heart. Surely, no rational mind can actually believe that! Admittedly, some have been more clever at it than others, but as the Presidency has evolved into an almost imperial institution, we are more inclined to treat them as celebrities, rather than the public servants they are. As that has taken root, we permit them greater license to pursue their own ends and those of the ones who purchase their loyalty, than to those who voted them in, and keep them in, office.

Ronald Reagan brought all the tried and true forms of illusion and deception from Hollywood to bear on his presidency. And it worked!

Bill Clinton has had his image sanitized and he is now the squeaky-clean wonder boy we have come to accept, despite the fact that he laid the foundation for and was the chief enabler for the greatest financial catastrophe since the Great Depression that hit us in 2008!

Then there is George W. Bush, Dick Cheney, their Administration, the Neocons, the Supreme Court, and the lies and deception that kept them in office. All you have to do is scratch the surface on that one grand conspiracy in order to realize that we were “had” big time.

Then comes the issue of the Wonder Boy who promised us “Change We Can Believe In.” The throngs that flocked to see him in Berlin, and Grant Park in Chicago to savor his victory and the renewed promise that he would surely lead us to the Promised Land. Wow! His countenance, reminiscent of the Emperors of Imperial Rome, mesmerized us.

The dust had barely settled on his lofty speeches and the hollow promises, when Obama set himself to the task of bringing back all the sullied carry-overs from the Clinton Administration, that should have raised the red flag for us. We weren’t kept in suspense for long. The stage was being set with his penchant for “compromise” and “bi-partisanship,” euphemisms for the figurative screwing that would soon be upon us.
What happened to the real stimulus package advocated by the best economic minds in the country? Instead, we got a token effort at best that only delayed the horrors yet to come.

What happened to the stringent controls and regulations that were going to be imposed on the Wall Street Bandits and the financial institutions they headed? Compromise and bi-partisanship soon became the order of the day. The graceful art of lying took hold, Obama backed away from the issue, Chris Dodd, Barney Frank and their political allies all plied their skills as consummate liars. Operating behind closed doors in meetings with the lobbyists and the real power brokers resulted in a watered down version of so-called regulations, all of which amounted to a glaring giveaway that would only serve to further enhance the ability of Wall Street, the Federal Reserve and all their minions to steal even more, and taking us further down the path to financial ruin. As of this writing, they continue unabated.

What happened to real health care reform? Where was the single-payer option that Obama swore he would insist upon? Why did he meet behind closed doors in the White House with healthcare insurance executives, drug company executives, and health care providers to assuage their feelings and reassure them that they had nothing to worry about? The result? Healthcare reform that ended up further enhancing the greed of the very ones he was going to regulate! Oh, I forgot. Just another dose of “compromise” and “bi-partisanship.”

What happened to the renegotiation of NAFTA and other free-trade agreements we were promised during his campaign?

What happened to the end of warrant-less wiretapping?

What happened to the closure of Guantanamo Bay?

What happened to bringing the war criminals from the Bush Administration to justice?

Why did it take so long to address the issue of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell?”

What happened to his promise to strengthen labor laws?

What happened to end the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan?

Why does he continue to pander to the Military-Industrial Complex at the expense of the people of this country?

That is just a sampling, but the real question is “What happened to the transparency in government you promised?”

The most recent and glaring example of the disingenuous nature of President Obama is his sell-out to the super-rich by extending their tax cuts for another two years, for which he received in exchange the extension of unemployment insurance for one year? Yeah, yeah. I know. Compromise and bi-partisanship. Who got the better of that deal?

The burning question I have, as the people of these United States witness the unrelenting assault on middle class and working class Americans, with the complete focus on reducing the deficit is, “Why aren’t you ramming the issue of tax cuts for the rich and reduced corporate taxes down the very throats of those you caved in to? Why don’t you keep the focus on the total cost of just those two giveaways, repeatedly, as repudiation to the false claim that our fiscal ills are rooted in government spending out of control? Had those tax giveaways been allowed to expire, just how much money, alone, would have been returned to the Treasury?

At the end of the day, it boils down to his mastery of the graceful art of lying and his well-honed ability to stage the grand deception. The President talks out of both sides of his mouth. He is simply not credible.

The Supreme Court, piggy-backing on their blatant stealing of the presidential election in 2000, has chosen to ignore their solemn obligation to exercise judicial impartiality, making it abundantly clear that they see no problem with legislating from the Bench. The massive amount of money that has been unleashed on our political system by Citizens United doesn’t even pretend to be subtle. It is glaring and a clear violation of the standard by which they are supposed to operate. Thomas, Scalia, Alito, and Roberts should hang their heads in shame and tender their resignations. Just another example of what lying and deception can get you. Who said the “For Sale” sign isn’t prominently on display at the Supreme Court?

Until we purge the influence of money and influence from government, remove the grip of the exclusive right to govern by either the Democratic and/or Republican parties, we can only expect more of the same, only to get progressively worse with time.

As long as we remain a nation of self-entitled individuals rather than kindred members of one nation called “Americans,” I don’t know that we can survive. As tenacious as our collective will and determination may be, I am not so sure time is on our side. We may well have entered a new phase in our history that is known as a “two-class society.”

Madam DeFarge, perhaps it is time for you to, once again, get out your knitting needles!


Cowboy Bob
February 25, 2011