Summary

The article critiques the dishonesty of politicians, likening them to the boy who cried wolf, and questions the nostalgia for an idealized past greatness of America that never existed, while emphasizing the continuous progress in personal freedoms.

Abstract

The author of the article draws a parallel between the fable of "The Boy Who Cried Wolf" and contemporary politicians, suggesting that their propensity to lie undermines their credibility. The article scrutinizes the claim that America needs to return to a supposedly greater past, pointing out the flaws and hardships throughout the 20th century. It argues that the United States has been on a steady path of improvement, particularly in terms of personal freedoms and social progress. The piece also takes aim at the lies perpetuated by right-wing figures and the fantastical narratives they promote, such as the "Q-nundrum," questioning the logic and motives behind such deceptions. It highlights the negative impact of these lies on public discourse and policy, including the potential economic chaos that could result from political gamesmanship with the national debt. The author concludes by reflecting on the nature of stupidity and the detrimental effects of lying, both on the liar's ability to learn and on society's trust in its leaders.

Opinions

The author believes that the nostalgia for a better America in the past is misguided, as each decade had its own significant challenges.
There is a strong critique of politicians who lie repeatedly, comparing them to the boy who cried wolf, and suggesting that such behavior erodes trust and credibility.
The article expresses skepticism about the motives of right-wing politicians and their supporters, particularly those who propagate conspiracy theories and deny reality.
The author is critical of the potential consequences of political actions, such as defaulting on the national debt, which could lead to economic chaos.
The piece suggests that lying hampers the acquisition of knowledge and that serial liars may become incapable of assimilating new information.
It is implied that a society that values stupidity as patriotism is unsafe for intelligent individuals, referencing a quote by Isaac Asimov.
The author encourages readers to engage critically with the content and to support the writer by interacting with the blog, highlighting the importance of informed discourse and active participation in the democratic process.

When Politicians Cry Wolf: Lies vs Reality

The Boy Who Cried Wolf

There was once a little boy who cried wolf. We all know that little boy was a shit. He played like there was a wolf until the day there really was a wolf and then no one listened to a thing he said. All the sheep were turned into a rack of lamb fit for a wolf. The story goes that the little boy grew up to be a politician. He could lie about anything, after all. That little boy cum politician was a practitioner of one of the most unfortunate traits of humanity. He turned out to be a professional level liar with national championship possibilities.

Speaking of championship level liars, we’ve recently been inundated with an idea about how America is no longer great and that we have to do something to return to the greatness that once was. I’ve been wondering when exactly America was greater than it is now. There was a world war at the end of the first two decades of the 20th century. The 1920’s had the market crash. The 1930’s had the Great Depression and came out of that to go directly into the 1940’s and WWII. The 1950’s had bomb shelters and Lawrence Welk. The 1960’s had the murder of John F. Kennedy and the added bonus of the beginning of Vietnam. The 1970’s continued with Vietnam and spawned Nixon. The 1980’s featured AIDS as a national scare. The 1990’s made Timothy McVey a national name to reckon with and we did the gulf war thing. The decade of the 2000’s was introduced by the World Trade Center towers being collapsed by commandeered airplanes. The decade of the 2010’s saw the affliction of Trump and the Magaites. So when did this greatness that the MAGA’s are returning to transpire? It must have been short-lived because I damned sure don’t remember it. The way I experienced those years was a slow, steady unfolding of personal freedoms for a wide range of people from youth to women to people of non-white skin. There was never a point where the United States stopped being ever greater. There were some hard fought battles to be sure, but then Vietnam ended. Nixon gave up. George Harrison sang Give Me Love and Hippies became Boomers.

What Are They Thinking With?

I don’t know what these supposedly right wing folks are thinking about. I suppose what actually irks me about all of this are the lies. You can trust a man until he lies to you because once he lies you have to question everything he says from then on. So… how can people who are trying to sell a lie about a once upon a time fantasy that never existed be trusted? What melts my mind even more is it’s pretty common with these folks to claim some Lone Stranger as their Parish Priest and act as the Lord Himself is whispering in his ear. Then they pay him to lie to them some more. I’m sorry but that whole Q-nundrum just does not make any sense to me. Sounds more like a bunch of school kids pretending something or another, or aren’t kids allowed to play let’s pretend any more? Or has let’s pretend become the new national pastime?

There’s a congressman from New York who actually lied about so much stuff that to even find out what his real name is was an international incident. There’s a congress woman from Georgia who is trying to make a name for herself by saying outrageously blonde things and being obnoxiously rude. There’s a nationally-known governor who is in battles to the death with a mouse and a word. There’s the front runner in a national election who has 91 felony counts against him. Please note that all of the people I’m referring to here are Republicans. The sad part is I’ve merely listed the most irascible culprits here. There’s more. Lordy, there’s lots more. I could mention that group of congressmen who actually want to default on the government’s debt. That will cost everyone a ton of advancement. It ain’t smart in other words. But if the guys who are threatening to do such a stupid thing are college educated gentlemen, why would they want to do something so fundamentally stupid? What manner of deception are they about?

It really doesn’t make any difference what they are trying to do. Nothing will change for them, but it will affect lots of people all over the world. And what will they have accomplished? Well nothing, other than to throw the world into economic chaos. I don’t have any idea if that will actually take place. Sorry, I dropped my crystal ball and Amazon has yet to deliver my new one. Besides, it takes some time to properly break those puppies in. The reason why nothing will change if they ruin our federal government credit rating is that life will continue, but for those people, their ill conceived plans will come home to rest on their own shoulders. That’s what always happens.

“When Stupidity Is Considered Patriotism, It Is Unsafe to Be Intelligent.”

― Isaac Asimov

The definition of stupid is destruction that has no benefit for the destroyer. A characteristic of stupid is a perception that knowledge exists where it actually doesn’t. This is a condition which exists in people who are convinced that what they perceive as knowledge is complete. Knowledge is never complete. A tell of incomplete knowledge is a lie. If, for example, consequences have not been calculated for a given action, it is a trait of human beings to tell a lie to cover themselves. I suppose it’s been true since Adam had to fess up about that apple. It just looks easier to tell a lie and move on down the line.

The problem is the moment the lie exists the liar is tied to the event and further progress in obtaining knowledge is stifled. In the case of serial liars, it could be that learning itself is hampered to the point of incapacitating assimilation of new or even current data. Once assimilation of data occurs knowledge may appear to be complete. There is no need for furthering the struggle to distill knowledge. Look, this is all just something we human beings do. But once an individual acts like we’re all too stupid to know when there’s a wolf and when there’s a little fellow touting his importance of being designated the Wolf Watcher, we all have been served warning that the individual is not to be trusted. The only way for anyone to adhere to such beliefs requires them to have assumed they know all there is to know about how people behave. And that’s either a bald faced lie or a guy who has never been married.

It’s true that politicians often cry wolf to raise the animus of the folks back home. But all too often it appears that the lies exist to deny reality. You know, lies like an election was stolen. There is a deep state controlled by a cabal of Knights Templar, Illuminati, and supported by an underground network of Masons.

Should you believe things like this you may want to take a time out and re-examine how you calculate this old inconvenient thing we call reality. Really. Take a week off and go out in the park or the backyard and just chill until you can figure out how to incorporate reality into your itinerary. It’s a nice place to visit, no kidding.

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