Believe those who are seeking the truth. Doubt those who find it.
Monday, January 23, 2012
T,R 9:50am
47 comments:
Anonymous
said...
I think the problem with many minorities is the way they were brought up. Not so much as to where they lived but as to the way they are brainwashed. Ofcourse a lower income doesn't help the situation but it's not the main reason blacks and latinos perform poorly in school. I believe that a lot of it has to do with their parents along with teachers expecting less of them and making them believe that as long as you pass then your doing a great job. Or as long as you get your high school diploma then you have enough education, and if you go to college then you are the greatest ever. It's like setting them up for failure. Ofcourse college should be recognized and credited, but in many families it's considered a luxury instead of an expectation. I believe the level should be set real high for every kid instead of it being low and anything they do above that is fantastic. Parents and teachers need to give them credit when they genuinely deserve it, and if not, let them know that they are smarter than that and they can do better. Giving away A's for C work like the article mentioned is lying to them. That will never get the job done. Building confidence is the key. Make kids feel good about themselves so they want to do well and not let themselves or anybody else down. We are all smart, it's how we maximize our potential where the level of success comes in. This is the job of the families and the schoolboard.
Politicians have always lied and they always will before and after elections. They lie to make themselves look better to America so they can received the majority of votes. This becomes a fight for lies. When one lies then the other one will and it will continue on. Politicians always try to be one step ahead then their opponents and the only way to do that is to lie.
Obama and past presidents have made promises to America and never went through with it. Honestly we are taking too many lies from the people who are running and willing to run this country. We can speak for days about all the conspiracy theories about all the politicians especially in George W. Bush's presidential term. 9/11, a government created incident along with prosecuting Iraq of having weapons of mass destruction just to start a war in the middle east for oil? We might never know but there is so much true evidence out there that proves that tho was all done by the U.S. but we continue on with our lives not doing anything about this president and politicians who have just become an enemy of this country.
The government is full of lies, and secrets will always be kept secret. What we need to do is pay more attention to who the hell is running this country and what they are saying and doing. This whole lying deal has been getting rose over the years and will continue to do so. Why continue to be lied to, why be manipulated and brainwashed? As stated in the article, "The worst outcome would be for everyone to give up -- for voters to conclude that all politicians lie, " this will destroy our way of who we really want to have to run this country. Democracy? This is turning into a secret dictatorship
Politicians lie because the public(us) doesn’t want to hear the thru. If candidates want to win the election, they better start lying, because the guy who's telling us the truth doesn't have a chance. People only vote for politicians who tell them what they want to hear.As Americans we have become accustomed with politicians lying to us during campaigns.
Why lie? Why should we accept thier lies? There is no point. for us to vote for a group of politicians that lie. Having a democracy and all of us having the equal opportunity to vote for a leader of this country to give and guide us to a better way of life is the point for voting; to be safe and functional. Why continue wanting to be lied to where we can change things to how we want it? We want more jobs, better education, better healthcare, better retirement, better everything but these decisions are not goin the right way because we are not voti the right way. We need to stop depending on media (#1 liars and dramatizers) an do Our research, use our senators, representatives, congress, and governors to spread what we think in certain decisions the state and country is making. We vote or them too. Todays society loves lying. Even cheating in relationships have insanely risen over the recent years.
Politicians need to lie simply because they cannot tell the truth. We Americans are very "sensitive" when it comes to our nation. We are over protective and may I dare say a bit ignorant? I don't wish to offend anyone, because I am also American, however we need the people who are brave enough to govern keep the peace. That's there job. Political candidates are constantly under a microscope so anything they say is examined and then put into either the “Like” pile or the “Dislike” pile. Their goal is to win the race, and if winning means saying anything to get voters on their side, and keep them there, then so be it. WE are the ones that should take responsibility for wading through all the bullshit to find the truth; we can’t just trust what they say. It is OUR job to test these politicians and see what they are made of. It’s like Plato’s allegory of the cave: what we see, may not be what we see.
Sometimes ignorance is bliss, because knowing too much can drive us to insanity. If we really knew what was going on behind closed doors would we be able to sleep at night? Once you know something you cannot un-know it. Is it just better for America to continue accepting what the politicians tell us? It’s not there fault they have to lie and tell us what we want to hear because we just can’t handle the truth (I had to….). We have a duty to ourselves to not be lazy and work together to make this nation a better place. We need to work WITH these politicians not against them.
My question to you all is, does making promises during a campaign and not fulfilling them make them a liar?
I think a lot of these politicians make unrealistic promises that they think they can partially accomplish, but in fact they often don't have the opportunity to begin or are held back due to other issues(Obama). It sure is easy for uneducated, barely functioning average conspiracy theory loving citizens to criticize a politician and the government on a daily basis because they truly don't understand the way politics works. Politics is like war, and winning ain't easy. A politician is like a huge target that everyone can take a shot at. There's a difference in asserting the fact that you'll indefinitely accomplish something, and saying that you will TRY to get something done. Misinterpreting and skewing a politicians goals is easy to do, and it is done on a daily basis. Look a little deeper and you'll see that not every politician is like that - and the one's who are will often be called out on it by the people(Hint; Occupy Wall St. Movement)(Ron Paul). So no, as far as i'm concerned my generation is actually not letting politicians get away with lying at the same frequency that prior generations were allowing it. I believe we live in a time where politicians are become more aware of a society that's becoming much more interconnected and news spreads literally at the speed of light throughout the world. Their reputations and professional careers are at stake and the one's who constantly lie will probably not last long. Sometimes, they lie for the sake of national security and welfare, for the sake of national tranquility, for the sake of your sanity, and to maintain equilibrium throughout the states. But this leads to another issue of being truthful regardless of the repercussions and consequences that would erupt. Remember, There's a difference between a politician being exaggerated for the sake of getting ahead in his campaign, and a malevolent lie which seeks to harm the public's welfare once elected. Also, hiding top secret info is not the same as lying. It is usually done for the security of our country. Keeping secrets from the public is OFTEN done for the better(National security). If you were ever in a position of power, I believe you'd understand. Lastly, euphemisms are often confused with lies in the political affairs. They are not the same. Is it moral to mask the truth with more "soft" language? Well that's a different discussion in and of itself.
As for the truly malicious politicians who get away with lying, they are simply able to because of the rampant political apathy that's plaguing our nation. Not enough people are involved or up to date with the state of our countries policies and endeavors(Also, they don't understand economics and how the system works well enough). A politician is more or less a puppet through which people gets their desires accomplished on the larger scale. An ineffective one will not get re-elected. They're able to get away with lying because the population is extremely gullible and does not ask for the facts and details. Either that, or they are stupid enough to fall for the unrealistic expectations that they hold. So they believe unrealistic goals presented to them. Lack of common sense. My advice? Well, as physicist David Deustch suggested, apply Poppers Criterion of falsifiability to politics. Become concerned with a rational political system that makes it as easy as possible to detect, and persuade a leader that a policy is bad, and remove them without violence if they are.
It is not new to anyone that we live in a world full of lies. The first liars are politicians that when elections comes they postulated and they try to gain people’s vote lying and telling people what they want to hear. They lie to make themselves look better in front of the world in order to receive the majority of votes. Another reason why politicians lie so much is not because they are pathological liars, sometimes it is because we expect too much of them (in a lot of cases impossible things) and they are forced to lie to keep people happy. The 1988 presidential election is an example of this. We can recall the famous lie, "Read my lips, no new taxes" was the famous lie that Bush told over and over again. Once he became president, however, Bush raised taxes as a way to reduce the national budget deficit. One of the problems that it taking places right now is the controversy with the dream act. It allows immigrants'sstudent to study to obtain a career. Obama is saying that if he became president again this year he is going to work hard in order to put in practice the dream act. In not saying that if he take the presidency, maybe he will give those people the opportunity to become professionals, but in certain point he is saying that to obtained more votes. We all know that there are a lot of people undocumented in this country and he is saying what people what to hear and it makes them happy. We have to take conscience and make sure we vote for the right person, maybe lies never stop but we can make a better world choosing somebody that really care our necessary and problems.
Politicians get away with lying because they can, so they will continue to. The political world is a game politicians’ play and the end result is power and money. The public aid politicians to lye but deny their part in the problem. The public wants to hear what they want too and whichever politician severs the best line that will benefit their needs (which most promises are broken the moment politicians are elected) the public will buy. We belong to a party nation we don’t elect who is the best man for the job, we don’t really care. We just want our party to win; ultimately, we want to win! No one wants to be on the losing team! We no longer care to check the facts and the politicians are aware of this, so they continue to falsify information evidently with no discernment. We complain about wanting change and the political lies to stop, but what the public is really saying is we don’t want to know when you’re lying as long as you try to make us happy in some way! Politicians will never stop lying because we are too lazy to make them be accountable for their actions. When we unite as one nation and not by parties and elect the best person for the job based on facts and the candidate’s record we will continue to be part of the problem. Don’t complain about a problem if you’re not going to aid in finding a solution to the problem!
To start with, generalizing is not a good idea and even less in a controversial topic like this one that talks about politicians and their lies. Saying that all politicians lie is hard to prove. However, history has proved that a big number of politicians have used the advantages of lying to convince people about different matters that supported his or her future plans and career. As this article mentions, we have the case of Clinton and Colin Powell who affirmed something that was not really true. Statistics show that lying is a common pattern of many politicians. We should never just accept the partnership of politicians and lies without doing something. Election time is one of the periods in which the use of lies is used, most of the times, as a powerful tool to get people’s vote. It is possible to mention a lot of promises that are made during election time and that never become true when the person gets the desired position. In this case, the most important question will be why do they lie if they are suppose to be saying the truth about what they are going to do for our nation in the future? The article explains that they do it to compete against the lies of his or her rivals. However, why do their rivals lie? Is it just because of a tradition? It is definitely not the root of the problem because winning an election with the truth means less pressure because the politician will never be accused of lying in the long run. This need for lying is due to the lack of skepticism in the voters. Voters are waiting for the perfect politician who will do magic to give them all what they have in their head without even analyzing the current situation of the country. After hearing these dreams, what politicians do is affirming that they are going to make those wishes come true without even knowing if it is possible. The politician who makes the most promises that will make those dreams come true and puts them in the most beautiful way is the one who receives the most votes. To stop this lying chain that starts in the head of the voter trying to find the perfect politician and ends on the politician lying to be an exact replication of the voter’s dream, our best tool is to be informed and become as skeptic as possible. We have to be informed about our present, idealize the future and be able to predict the number of steps to build the bridge that will connect those two stages. If you know that there are more or less 20 steps to move from point A to point B, and there is a magician politician who will do it in 5 steps do not vote for that one unless you want to lie to yourself. Vote for the one that says that he or she is going to do same thing but in 50 steps. This person who will take 50 steps is saying a hard truth “It will take more time and it is not as easy as you want it to be. However, it is something achievable and I will work to try to get there”. It is clear that today we want a better economy. Every politician today is talking about this topic and promises are being made. As voters, we would all love to hear that by voting for person “X” we will be able to have a Ferrari and a stable job that will pay for it in 2 years. However, we have to be clear that it is not that easy. If we had to choose between this person “X” and a person “Y” who just says that jobs are going to improve a 0.00001% and we are basing our vote in truth, it will definitely be better to vote for person “Y”.
Being skeptic and well informed should be our responsibility if we want to stop this chain of lies. Asking a person running for office what he or she is going to do is not enough. It is also important to know why and how they are going to do that. If we know that politicians lie and we are not well informed and skeptic during elections, we, as voters, become more irresponsible than the politicians. It is our power to decide the future of our nation by deciding who is going to represent us in front of the whole world. For that reason, it is our responsibility to show to those politicians who lie that we are no so naïve as their lies think we are. In this way, we may be creating more responsible politicians who will think twice before promising something they won’t be able to afford. It is better to practice doubt than lamenting for having done something.
@Mellisa I say it's better to know whats really happening than to wonder and try to figure out what the real truth is. Allowing politicians to lie to us because "we can't handle it" is over the top. This is life, nothing can't be perfect and we should know what is going on so WE THE PEOPLE can decide what to do accordingly. Like i said, this is becoming a dictatorship. Its becoming a one man team controlling the country and we are letting him tell us what we need to do. Politicians see that this is the most common way for Americans to think so they take advantage of it. They manipulate us to do things they want us to do and think. We have become scared of the government and it is getting worse.
Whether big or small, a lie is a lie and there's no justification to lying. The sad part is that we, as Americans have accepted their lies when we vote for certain politicians and then we become enraged when those certain promises that enticed us to vote for them in the first place, do not come to see the light of day. People lie everyday, whether they are politicians or normal citizens, but why do we really even have to lie? The biggest problem we have is that we do not like to hear the truth let alone accept it when it is presented to us. Since we do not live in a perfect world, we either continue to accept the lies of politicians or we actually stand up and make a change about it. If we loved our country so much and were patriotic about the things that take place in America, then we as Americans should be patriotic enough to stop accepting lies and actually begin to accept the truth whether good or bad. For as long as we continue on with poor system, then the longer it will keep taking place. We cannot rely on outside sources to give us information; we need to be the ones seeking out the truth so that we will not be taken as fools (even though by letting these lies and broken promises continue, then we are being played like fools). So whose fault is it really, the politicians who lie to us or us, who accept these lies being made to us?
The lies of politics are obvious. We are too scared to face them. As stated above about Bush and Obama, they have made promises before being elected but have never been followed through with.Issues with taxes, healthcare, economy and the troops are topics widely spoken and demanded in the past decade. Have any of these been fixed? Some have very lightly been improved but media puts it alllll over the news to make it seem that it's been fixed. Then in 3 or 4 years when Americans start to complain about it again then they improve it a pinch more and make it sound like everything is fine and dandy. This is what politicians and the government are doing. Troops in Afghanistan and Iraq is the biggest so far because it's effecting the economy and national security. Me, a soldier of the U.S. Army, have been deployed to Afghanistan for a year and i can tell you that this "War on Terror" is biggest bullcrap politicians have fed us. We waste trillions of dollars on the Afghan people that don't even want us in their country. They have lived all their life living the way they have, it is their way of living and they are used to it. Speaking with the locals i have nothing but "Why are you Americans here? Go Home!," "When you leave, everything will go back the same way it was so you are wasting your time," "You guys bring nothing but trouble." But even then they ask for us to build them wells, and schools (that will be late blown or used as a safe house for Taliban), and clinics (They will sell al the medicine on the black market), etc. Do we give it to them? Yes, because our 'Commander in Chief' says yes. Why? I have no damn clue but just telling you this do you really think we are doing any good? Why not use all this money to work on our national security, to protect our borders, to better the lives of the American people instead of the people of a country that do not want us to help. Obama in his State of the Union addressed that we should repair the road here at home than those in Afghanistan and Iraq. He said the same exact lines in his other State of the Unions. Just recently, we took all our troops out of Iraq. Obama stated, before he becomes president, that troops will be out Iraq and Afghanistan as son as he gets elected. Did that happen? Not exactly. Yes we pulled out of Iraq(about time) but that is after how many billion and trillion of dollars wasted? Yes we got Saddam but this could of been done differently instead of having thousands of troops killed and thousands more injured. And now in Afghanistan it's going to take 4 years to withdrawal all of the troops out. Why? We might never know because we are scared of the truth? Does the U.S. government want world power? Why do we continue to fight other's fights? What are the real reasons for fighting these wars? The answers are all underneath the lies that the politicians are feeding us because we are so easily handled like lab rats on an exercise wheel. We need to start worrying about tomorrows satisfaction and not just today's. Wanting to know the truth is the way we all need to go. This is America, we have our freedoms, rights, duties, and responsibilities as citizens of this country. We live by the Constitution,where it sates many things about us knowing information and decisions on the government but politicians have implemented laws to cover these rights up and make it illegal. Do we challenge it?(We have the right to challenge it) We don't because we are not caring. Let's start caring and get things done to make this the country it's suppose to be like.
I believe that Americans tolerate politicians that lie because we have no other choice; all of them lie. Politicians lie because they can with no consequences, unless they get caught in the act. Unfortunately for us, most lies are passed as truths and for what? So politicians can get to the position they want. It's hard to believe that many politicians first priority is the citizens and the country. Therefore,we have empty promises and our economy keeps getting worst but the politicians are getting paid, and those who get paid are the ones who can lie the best.
I also think that if there was an honest politician, they wouldn't win because America wouldn't like what they are proposing, because in this economy, the truth hurts.
Lying is and has always been a constant in our life. Most of our actions are driven and motivated by our ego, our thirst to appeal good among a big group of people. We all have multiple lives or selves with the rise of social network. Politics resembles this, as if think of a politician, as an individual who is trying to convince, gather multitudes for a common goal - "the politician's goal" - thus he has to make false promises in order to accomplish something. Probably not all their campaign proposals are thrown out of the blue. I believe they believe in their proposals and how it can benefit our society. But understanding the political system of the country, can make us realize that what impediments these promises from coming true, is the congress or senate standing in the way. What has caused politicians to be dishonest is that as any other profession, money is an issue. Politics stopped protecting for our well being, for the sanity and improvement of a society as a whole, when it became a profession. When it became a mean for a certain individual to achieve wealth. We are not doomed. If we want our voice, our liberty and democracy to prevail we must act. Instead of searching for problems, we have to be in search of the light of solutions. Instead of creating an atmosphere that our system has been condemned to nasty politicians; we shall start creating an habitat that harnesses our most cherished values, and among them liberty, democracy. Why don't we act? Why don't we stop talking, and start acting? If there's one thing that history has taught us, is that when a society decides to act together, it can accomplish great things. And it can let the voice penetrate the most silenced places in our country.
Many american students are attending schools throughout the whole United States, but are they really prepared before they start attending school. One question that should be looked at carefully, do many parents educate their own children at home? I truly believe that a variety of parents want their children to successed in life, but really they don't want to struggle, or deal with any trials and tribulations. As you can see, high school senior students who are Latio, and African American are labeled to do math and reading skills, which an 13 year old white student could accomplish while in middle school. I know for a fact this is not a true statement, but family and their environment play a major role. Parents must encourage their kids to study more often, read books, and simply encourage their kids that anything is possible.It's not only the parents fault, in the classroom the teachers are teaching the children not the parent, and to be honest many teachers do not care about their students and want them to fail. The way a child is brought up from his household, and the education he or she receive will help in the future.
James Rachels argues that the truth having value is essential for complex society. I cannot help but agree with this stance. Without language and effective communication, meaningful society would simply be impossible. With no value placed on truth, statements would mean nothing, as their truth could not be presumed. One could extend this argument specifically to representative democracy. A system based around the people electing politicians to represent their interests based on those politicians’ platforms will completely crumble if it cannot be presumed that those politicians are being truthful. Further, politics is not a machine meant to be exploited for individual interests. I side with Václav Havel when he says that politics should be “practical morality.” Politicians often lie out of their own self-interest, and such a practise entirely ignores the reason their job even exists, which is to serve the country and its citizens and make their lives better. One could argue that it is permissible to lie if, so to speak, the means justify the end. However, this undermines the democracy that we so cherish and tends us toward democratic centrism, a system that has proven dangerous in China and the Soviet Union. As much as we do entrust politics to these people, we do so only with an idea of what they will do; it would be unwise to simply let them lie to us because they think they know what is best in the end. Having now established that politicians ought to tell the truth, we must be cognizant of the fact that it is easy for a vicious cycle to arise. That is, the more politicians lie, the more we come to accept it as an inevitability, and the more we do that, the more they are able to lie. It seems that we should then adopt a less tolerant attitude toward such practises to help disrupt that cycle. -Elvis Hatcher
Thomas Paine once said, “Government, even in its best state, is but a necessary evil[…] Government, like dress, is the badge of lost innocence; the palaces of kings are built upon the ruins of the bowers of paradise.” Politicians have a job, and it is to show us our way back into moral virtue, and into economical and scientific development, but unfortunately as we have seen in the newspapers and TV news, this concept is far from reality. Some politicians have lead countries into wares, famines, and underdevelopment. They promise great things but at the end do nothing. People vote for them thinking that these men and women are righteous and truthful just to see years later than these men have manipulated the truth to feed their own greed. But who is the one to blame for this? To be a leader means that you know how to make others believe that the truth is with you because whoever holds the truth holds the power. That is why some people are easy to trick into overlooking the mistakes of their favorite candidate. Republicans will stick to their candidates no matter how poorly they behave just because they believe that the Republican Party is the one that truly represents the moral values and economic interests of the American people. Like religious fanatics, they would not question the wrong actions of the members of their party; on the contrary, they would pretend that they never happened. Democrats are the same too with their candidates. They would never vote for someone from a different political party even if they know that he or she would probably do a better job, only because they have to be loyal to their own party. They cannot open their minds to accept that someone else might be right too. As voters we must question our candidates. We have to chose the right candidate out of their merits nor just because he or she belongs to our dear political party. We must know how to discern the factors that matter to the ones that don’t. When Clinton had a sexual encounter with his assistant, did this affect the economy or the wellbeing of the American people? No. it made some people uncomfortable because he denied it. Clinton should have never lied because for something so irrelevant, he gave an excuse to his political enemies to undermine all his merits. When Collin lied about the weapons of mass destruction, did this affect our country? Yes it did. It sent thousands of young women and men to lose their lives into ware that left the economy of the United States almost broke. So this kind of lying does matter, especially when lives are at stake. Bush should have never lied because thanks to him thousands of innocent people died. If you compare these two cases, we see that whatever a politician chooses to do in his private life sometimes has far less consequences in a country that what he or she does at work. The problem is that in a country like this where moral hypocrisy prevails, people are often more concern with the sexual behavior of their politician than with their jobs are leaders. Some voters don’t know how to separate their moral creeds from the rest of things that really help a country grow. They tend to overlook the important things, the factors that really matter when they cast their votes. So at the end it is our own fault when things go wrong in our government.
Politicians get away with lying because lying has been woven into the fabric of American society. Plenty of those who can reprimand lying politicians have gotten to their positions through the same means, so they disregard this inappropriate behavior. Many times lying becomes a way to hide a hidden agenda. For instance, a powerful corporation needs a law passed to assume and use a piece of land to produce a certain material, it’s difficult to get the law passed because its a known fact that this development will bring harm to local residents through the excess of pollutants. The heads of the corporation will give money to various politicians to win over the vote in their favor, and these politicians will fabricate many lies to enrich themselves. I believe that money and power is the root cause associated with political lies, greed has gone unchecked for far too long. Those that elect politicians to office should hold them responsible for the words that come out of their mouths, every promise made and not kept, they should be held accountable for. If they will not honor their word, then those who has entrusted them should see to it that they never win another election. If politician come under this kind of scrutiny, then those after them will be more careful when it comes to these deceptive ways.
As mentioned above, there is a type a lying that does matter to our country. Personal life has nothing to do with running this country and some can argue that if a president cheated on his/her wife then they are liars. Then media shows up and tells the whole world and people believe it even if it's a lie. Now his is the exactly why politicians now lie. They see how media brainwashes us and they use it. They use it to feed us lies and we will believe it's try because the media presented it. On the long run, is it truly the fault of politicians why they lie? I believe not, the fault falls on us Americans.
Lying and politics go hand in hand, since the beginning of time when the monarchs ruled to our modern day communists. Lying still prevails in the United States and especially right now when we are about to vote for a president to run this country for another fours years.
I wouldn't say that we, the american people, are completely gullible to the lies these politicians spew over and over through their campaigns and advertisement. I believe that we simply need someone to believe in, to instill in us the hope that things will get better. We are inclined to believe these lies. But we have to somehow sift through all the lies and find some genuine hope in the people we want to run our country.
Lastly, I think we should be looking at the bigger picture. Our government is corrupt and selfish, the only people they want to help is themselves. We have to vote for the people who really care for what the american people need. We need to put an end to the manipulation and greed. To set aside our own beliefs and pick the right person who has the needs of the american people at heart.
According to the article, I think the problem lies among us the people.The reason I say this is because we are allowing the politician to keep lying instead of calling them out for their false statement.In fact,Siesla Book states"lying has become norm of politics." When is it normal for politician to lie and who made up this decision? I believe that politicians get away with lying because many people are use to them lying so, it is normal. I believe it is not okay for a politician to lie because people lie it is a problem.So, it should be more serious when a politician lie because they are representing us and politics.So, it is unacceptable for politicians to lie.
Lying, whether by evading the answer or giving a false statement, should not be a getaway for politicians when faced with important questions. If politicians should make their efforts in building trust, why lying? I think that the issue can be addressed in different ways. I believe sometimes politicians speak to say what they know people want to hear, even if it means lying. It plays a major role in the campaign, where politicians absolutely contradict themselves in order to gain “votes”. We are constantly accepting empty promises, and speeches that have nothing to state. I have talked to many other students as the elections are coming up, and I think that an arising issue related to this fact is that people feel deceived and lose interest in getting involved with the political life. They believe all candidates are the same; their way of campaigning is criticizing the other party and their promises change according to whom they speak. But if we stop carrying, what will our future be like? With politicians who get away with lying and a population that gives up on fighting for truth and leadership. Why should we let our politicians lead our country, if we can’t trust them?
Politicians are sort of like the crush you had in kindergarten who concentrated on being appealing to you only to get the last cookie in your lunchbox. They will say whatever they can, true or false, to have their "cookie" and eat it too. It seems like in the process of trying to gain the power of leadership now a days people must follow a protocol contradicts what a leader stands for, honesty and consideration. Political figures have gotten used to the idea of lying since it was discovered that even the slightest bend of any truth can benefit or defeat a party without the truth being discovered, not to mention these lies are funded to be kept secret (the bribe game). So how exactly do we, the people, benefit from these empty promises that fool us after the damage is done? Well, we don't. We just have to be conscious and more attent when we're considering ballots and we must research to find any lose ends before its too late. Because although it may seem to you that a certain political figure is fair, reasonable and trustworthy, it may not be so once they get what they want from you. Just look at Fidel Castro and Hugo Chavez, just to name a couple.
Politicians in my opinion are, funny talented people, I mean you must be funny and talented to entertain and brainwash enormous amounts of people with their lies and promises. The bad thing about it is that they don’t entertain people to have fun, they do it so in that way is easier to get their votes, EX: I am a politician, would you vote for me if I tell you that I will solve the problem even though I know that it has no solution, or if I tell you that the problem can’t be solve so keep living with it. People sometimes prefer to live in a hope than in the real world and the difference is that in the real world sacrifices must be done in order to succeed. Politicians get away with lies because we allow them to; and in sort of kind of way they always appear with solutions when voters are in need, telling them that a better world is possible and telling people how they can make it happen, and what is needed it to make it happen? Vote for me and you will see change .That’s all what they care about at the end of the day. I guess for people when someone tells them that a solution to their problems will be found, people just forget about the problem because is no part of their priority anymore, since they believe that someone else is already taking care of the problem. Another interesting point I would say is that how they won’t get away with lies if most of the time younger people don’t vote because is not of their interest ,or those that are willing to vote even know what is going on in their own country, I will said ignorance and lack of interest is the cause of it. People don’t stand up to politicians that are not solving the problems the communities have. What all this is doing is giving politicians more freedom to get always with their lies and to avoid the questions that need to be answered.
Minorities are limiting themselves. Everyone wants the easy way out. Then they have a pile of excuses of why they cant accomplish anything in life. The lack of knowledge can destroy a human's mind. A lot of minorities are afraid of change or the outcome of change.Whether its good or bad. Politician are professional liars who lie until they accomplish something. In my opinion every Politician lies unitl they can't lie anymore or until they get caught. when is America going to have a truthful Politician? I dont see he/she coming anytime soon.
One of the easiest ways to lie is to arrange your words in a way that makes people want to believe you. You state your claim in such a way that the listener might even feel guilty for having doubted you in the first place. You appeal to the prejudices and/or the emotions of the listener and you’ll have them repeating your claim to others so passionately that anyone else will think the original listener was there to verify to the claim. This is otherwise known as demagoguing and many politicians find this as an effective tool to win support. No matter how outrageous the claim, if they have a great understanding of what the passions of the people are, they will get them to believe almost anything, regardless of the facts. Now many (not the majority) Americans take time to critically think about what it is each politician is saying as well as what they’re not saying. If it’s something they are unsure about, they fact check it before they cast any judgment. The problem is nowhere near enough Americans do this so many politicians get away with lying. Even the politicians who get caught understand that Americans tend to have short memory so they come back a few months/years later and act as if nothing ever happened. When we as a society are so lazy at searching for the truth, can we really blame politicians for continuing to lie and deceive us? They have no incentive to do otherwise. The good honest politicians have very little incentive to run for office if they know Americans will simply believe the lies that come from their opponent’s mouths. We Americans often like to see it as “picking the lesser of two evils” because we just grown accustomed to lying politicians. This is a grave mistake. We should always be skeptic of ALL politicians and rarely should we take what is said as face value. A wise man once said “If men were angels, no government would be necessary. If angels were to govern men, neither external nor internal controls on government would be necessary.” When James Madison helped framed our constitution, he knew that politicians could not be trusted entirely and it would be a mistake of the people to do such a thing. So should we have a commitment to the truth? Absolutely. We owe it to our government to keep them honest and more importantly, we owe it to ourselves.
Politicians make promises they have no intention of keeping. That’s not a new thing for anybody. But the other factor that encourages politicians to lie is our willingness to keep re-electing proven liars. Incumbents are practicing learned behavior. They lie their faces off in order to win their seats, they break their promises after winning and then we as an electorate reward the behavior by forgiving them and falling for their lies yet again in the next election.
What can we do about this? I think that what we need is to keep track of what they’ve done about what they said to get elected. And before voting for them, people should know more about their candidates; do some kind of research on their history of politics.
When we elect politicians based on unreasonable mandates, don’t express shock when the promises are broken. When the electorate is prepared to vote for politicians with realistic mandates, we will see a reduction in broken promises.
Politicians have a great sneaky trick under their belt. But before discussing what the trick is, why do Americans constantly give the same type of people the power over them? Americans try to make their own version of what "should" be leading them. instead of having the issues as a top priority, they believe that other things are more important. The most important thing is image for many Americans. How a president carries themselves, How "American" and yet "Sophisticated" that they look. These values steer the american mind away from the issues that they should care about. After the complete image is begotten there is a shallow promise given to every citizen. The politicians give the lies that no one can guarantee. When they come up empty handed, it is very easy to point fingers at other politicians for not doing their jobs. Because promises to begin with were unattainable.
First of all, just realized I may have posted my last weeks post under a different T-Thursday class (was on time though)...Anyways, this is a very serious issue. Most if not all politicians lie to make themselves appear as the perfect candidate for whatever they may be running for, and typically the best liar wins. There is no point for Americans or anyone else to put up with it anymore,we should educate ourselves on the politicians running for office and do our research before voting for them because it seems like they're not doing their part properly. It's our responsibility to educate ourselves and make the best decision we can when voting.
Politicians will ALWAYS LIE about everything!! and the problem is America excepts it. So Much secrets are hidden in this Politic world...who knows what true, and what is false.
As a society, we see jobs that have to do with politics as a very high level of power, a spot where only the elite leaders should be. However, many of those leaders that we have in government are very dirty and are very used to lying in order to get their way. In America, the fight over the power is generally republicans vs democrats, not the public who should be caring. Why should civilians care? Because we are affected everyday by the decisions that these leaders of our country decide to carry on. Should we have a commitment to the truth? Good question, but there is no true answer to it. The right thing to do is to be truthful with your country, however these leaders do not really care about what we feel or what benefits us, what they really care about is their position and their salaries. Yes as individuals living in this country we should care about what they are doing, the lies they are saying, and the treats they are making. The problem is that we do not have enough time to live our everyday lives and still worry about all the lies that are being spread throughout our government, and therefore our country. We should try to do something, but it is much easier to worry about ourselves, our family, and forget about those so called “elite” leaders that lie in order to lead our country.
Politicians lie to win. They don't really mean what they say, its all a game. People are quick to vote on what sounds like the truth without having done the research to fulfill its trustfulness. Many people can't handle the truth, we the people would like to hear "We're going to reconstruct the economy, we're going to create more jobs" that keeps people interested because they target the things we need.
I believe politicians are able to lie their ways through the elections because they are very strategic about their lies and know how to skew their words so that people fall for them. To them they are white lies, and they aren't necessarily always about themselves. They approve AD campaigns bashing other candidates, using strong epithets that can ruin their chances at winning, and although to them it may seem like a clever strategy to gain votes for themselves, they are inauthentically lampooning others with false words. But no, it's all a master plan according to them. Also, let's take in account the latest Republican Debate on CNN where 4 of the remaining Republican candidates stood and began to rebuttal ideas. Each and every one of them lied at one point or another, whether the lie was big or small, I believe that at a certain point, the politicians begin to believe that their constituents are so wrapped up in their beliefs that they are willing to believe anything they say without fact checking them. It has gotten very out of hand, but politics is known for this. We cannot be surprised by their fallacies. It is solely based on creating this perfect facade, where they are the perfect people to run the country of America and sway our opinions to fit their wants.
Politicians lie because they will say anything to make themselves look and sound good regardless of how it affects society. Many are very smart so they are excellent manipulators. In the case with Bill Clinton, he was put in a position where he had to lie or risk being impeached. In this case I don't blame him for lying since it was more of a personal thing than anything that had to do with our society. The lies that presidential candidates make for example just so they can win an election are the ones they should be held accountable for. This is one of the many reasons many people do not trust politicians. If these people are running our country than they should be honest at all times. They're supposed to set the example. We are all humans so we can all understand when things do not turn out the way their intended to. As long as we are not being lied to, we can trust our leaders and forgive them when things don't work out.
Politicians might lie when they think they will get away with it, hoping that enough people will be misled and that others won't hold it against them. Also, they lie to protect or advance what they see as a moral endeavor, like invading Iraq or cutting off welfare queens. The public recognizes that politics is full of gray areas, and that politicians will always try to render them in black and white. The worst outcome would be for politicians to lie when they think that they will get away with it, hoping that enough people will be misled and that others won't hold it against them. It is said that voters and politicians alike should set their standards for honesty higher. This calls for doing their best distinguish between lies and honest mistakes; between lies that have been proved and lies that are only suspected; between deception through outright lies, half-truths and silence; between foolish promises or predictions and knowingly false ones; and between slipping into a lie and undertaking a policy of deceit choosing to be someone who deals with others throug deceit. Politicians lie because their job is to win elections and they say what they think they need to say to win. for us voters, separating the truth from lies is often hard or they vote on basis of something other than truthfulness of the candidate, perhaps on the theory that they all do it.
Politicians might lie when they think they will get away with it, hoping that enough people will be misled and that others won't hold it against them. Also, they lie to protect or advance what they see as a moral endeavor, like invading Iraq or cutting off welfare queens. The public recognizes that politics is full of gray areas, and that politicians will always try to render them in black and white. The worst outcome would be for politicians to lie when they think that they will get away with it, hoping that enough people will be misled and that others won't hold it against them. It is said that voters and politicians alike should set their standards for honesty higher. This calls for doing their best distinguish between lies and honest mistakes; between lies that have been proved and lies that are only suspected; between deception through outright lies, half-truths and silence; between foolish promises or predictions and knowingly false ones; and between slipping into a lie and undertaking a policy of deceit choosing to be someone who deals with others throug deceit. Politicians lie because their job is to win elections and they say what they think they need to say to win. for us voters, separating the truth from lies is often hard or they vote on basis of something other than truthfulness of the candidate, perhaps on the theory that they all do it.
We are now raising the question on morality, when should we lie? When is it justified, and in what situations is a lie suitable for the better good. Due to the nature of this question, controversy is a factor on the decision, so the line between “right or wrong” in this circumstance is very undefined. I personally believe that lies are an useful tool to lead the masses into thinking what you want, but as any tool it could be overused and turned against yourself. Based on my readings of Machiavelli (political philosophy) I believe a lie should be “observed” from a bias standpoint, but still able to look at the bigger picture. Allow me to give you an example of my understanding: Global Warming, due to an overwhelming consensus from the scientific community, and an endless amount of images that support this global threat; I came to the conclusion that it is real, and it is a threat to human kind. But let’s suppose that it was all just a hoax and a lie; now think about it… what did the “hoax” lead us too? Look for other sources of energy (green energy in this case), people became more aware of environmental issues, therefore many associations were created to protect the environment. More eco-friendly products were created… which manufacturing released less Carbon monoxide into the atmosphere, took fewer resources from nature, and limited the environmental impact of their exploits. Such “lie” leads us to so many important changes in our society, which granted some improvements in our environment. Now lies don’t seem too bad to they? Sometimes lies are necessary to grant social stability and avoid chaos, suppose Poland or France during the German invasion in World War II told its population the truth? That there was no way they could stop the German invasion in the case of an invasion? That would have created panic in the population and looting/killings and rape would be occurred all over the country. Or what about when someone is about to die? And they are asking you “What was going on?” Wouldn’t you omit the fact that he/she was dying? In order to allow the process of dying smoother? As I stated before, lies are an useful tool that could be used in many ways, but it doesn’t change the fact that it is just a tool, the only way to really categorize it as right or wrong is by analyzing its objective and meaning. Therefore I have come to the conclusion that lying in politics is completely justified, and the proper way to categorize them as “good or wrong” is by understanding its meaning, and looking beyond the average thought.
We are now raising the question on morality, when should we lie? When is it justified, and in what situations is a lie suitable for the better good. Due to the nature of this question, controversy is a factor on the decision, so the line between “right or wrong” in this circumstance is very undefined. I personally believe that lies are an useful tool to lead the masses into thinking what you want, but as any tool it could be overused and turned against yourself. Based on my readings of Machiavelli (political philosophy) I believe a lie should be “observed” from a bias standpoint, but still able to look at the bigger picture. Allow me to give you an example of my understanding: Global Warming, due to an overwhelming consensus from the scientific community, and an endless amount of images that support this global threat; I came to the conclusion that it is real, and it is a threat to human kind. But let’s suppose that it was all just a hoax and a lie; now think about it… what did the “hoax” lead us too? Look for other sources of energy (green energy in this case), people became more aware of environmental issues, therefore many associations were created to protect the environment. More eco-friendly products were created… which manufacturing released less Carbon monoxide into the atmosphere, took fewer resources from nature, and limited the environmental impact of their exploits. Such “lie” leads us to so many important changes in our society, which granted some improvements in our environment. Now lies don’t seem too bad to they? Sometimes lies are necessary to grant social stability and avoid chaos, suppose Poland or France during the German invasion in World War II told its population the truth? That there was no way they could stop the German invasion in the case of an invasion? That would have created panic in the population and looting/killings and rape would be occurred all over the country. Or what about when someone is about to die? And they are asking you “What was going on?” Wouldn’t you omit the fact that he/she was dying? In order to allow the process of dying smoother? As I stated before, lies are an useful tool that could be used in many ways, but it doesn’t change the fact that it is just a tool, the only way to really categorize it as right or wrong is by analyzing its objective and meaning. Therefore I have come to the conclusion that lying in politics is completely justified, and the proper way to categorize them as “good or wrong” is by understanding its meaning, and looking beyond the average thought.
According to one of the definitions of “lie”, it states that it’s something to deceive or give a wrong impression. Politicians lie because they have some misconceptions that the public doesn’t want to hear the truth. People want to hear what they want to hear. The politician that follows what the public wants usually wins the election. However, we, people supposed to teach how we believe too fast any politicians. First, we trust too much. People are notorious bad at detecting deception. One of the reasons that we are prone to a “trusting bias”. Our default is to believe what others tell us. Second, when we hear something from a leader, we often don’t engage in the mental effort to question the assertion. It’s sort of an apathetic, if the politicians are driving by the bus, they must know where they are going. Third, politicians and other leaders often adhere to a poor code of ethics that says the ends justify the means. The means, and being ethical, are what is really important. What we supposed to do? Question authority, become informed. Check the facts. Don’t simply believe what a leader says because he or she is in a position of authority and power. It is a good follower’s job to be a reality check on the leader.
Politicians has been doing their job for many years deceiving people in many states, changing laws, creating new ones. The main reason politics get away with lying, because they simply do not want us people to know the truth because we hold the true power. Once the people know the truth we could overcome many trials and tribulations. A group of people is power we have the power to change society, but we must rebel.
I think that, politicians lie in the attempt to give the people a sense of or an idea of what the people want to hear. Then fill up their bucket with the promise of fulfilling there deepest desire. So the people being blinded by grandiose word rush to the polls, cast their vote for a person they meet on TV. Speaking lies politicians has no intention on delivering. On the other hand the politician might have great intentions, until they run into the wall of congress, the senate, lobbyist, tea party member and the speaker of the house, all intend to derail the promises made at the beginning of the election. So we cast our money to strangers hoping for the best. The person with the most money normally gets what the politicians promise, the lobbyist with big money nine times out of ten gets what they pay for. Leaving the small man out in the cold warming them selves with the promises of a better life. I also think that emotions play a big part of the politicians’ lies. At a certain time in the political race the issue change to a personal and a more social frontal attack on society’s likes and dislikes for example pro life, pro choice, gay marriages and your religion, my religion. The lying game changes to an emotionally charged he says she says. So now the most emotional speech and the speech that drums up the most controversy wins. Then the politicians promise that if I am elected I will fight for you, it’s all about you and what you want, not me and what I want but for the people by the people. What they really mean is the people that could keep me RICH YEA. If you can do that I will if I am elected destroy all you enemies so that you could be rich just like me. Nevertheless we run to the polls for far less than this. Furthermore whether lying or not someone must win, then we live with the choices we made and wait to do it all over again in four more years.
The American diet has become a milestone to its parallel marketing industry, in which whoever invests the most in advertising receives its reward in profits. Its biggest issue has clearly been defined as the unhealthy defying of the essentials of the food pyramid, leading to an increase in chronic health problems such as morbid obesity and its derivatives. I do, though, accept that when in need, it solves the necessity of having a fast, relatively complete meal as our bodies require so. The issue is, that as most other industries now a days, they're fed by consumerism, which also derives from the same entity. To me, this is an issue that is seen as very underrated and as such, the government does not take action in order to repress its incontrollable outrage that is consequently leading to a variety of health issues that may even result in deaths or permanent diseases. Hopefully, there will be new campaigns supporting this anti-fast-food movement that will reinforce this mentality in people in general, which should almost be targeting parents, the peers to every child that is exposed to this problem.
Politicians have a great sneaky trick under their belt. But before discussing what the trick is, why do Americans constantly give the same type of people the power over them? Americans try to make their own version of what "should" be leading them. instead of having the issues as a top priority, they believe that other things are more important. The most important thing is image for many Americans. How a president carries themselves, How "American" and yet "Sophisticated" that they look. These values steer the american mind away from the issues that they should care about. After the complete image is begotten there is a shallow promise given to every citizen. The politicians give the lies that no one can guarantee. When they come up empty handed, it is very easy to point fingers at other politicians for not doing their jobs. Because promises to begin with were unattainable.
47 comments:
I think the problem with many minorities is the way they were brought up. Not so much as to where they lived but as to the way they are brainwashed. Ofcourse a lower income doesn't help the situation but it's not the main reason blacks and latinos perform poorly in school. I believe that a lot of it has to do with their parents along with teachers expecting less of them and making them believe that as long as you pass then your doing a great job. Or as long as you get your high school diploma then you have enough education, and if you go to college then you are the greatest ever. It's like setting them up for failure. Ofcourse college should be recognized and credited, but in many families it's considered a luxury instead of an expectation. I believe the level should be set real high for every kid instead of it being low and anything they do above that is fantastic. Parents and teachers need to give them credit when they genuinely deserve it, and if not, let them know that they are smarter than that and they can do better. Giving away A's for C work like the article mentioned is lying to them. That will never get the job done. Building confidence is the key. Make kids feel good about themselves so they want to do well and not let themselves or anybody else down. We are all smart, it's how we maximize our potential where the level of success comes in. This is the job of the families and the schoolboard.
Gonzalo. Are you commenting on this post's topic?
Politicians have always lied and they always will before and after elections. They lie to make themselves look better to America so they can received the majority of votes. This becomes a fight for lies. When one lies then the other one will and it will continue on. Politicians always try to be one step ahead then their opponents and the only way to do that is to lie.
Obama and past presidents have made promises to America and never went through with it. Honestly we are taking too many lies from the people who are running and willing to run this country. We can speak for days about all the conspiracy theories about all the politicians especially in George W. Bush's presidential term. 9/11, a government created incident along with prosecuting Iraq of having weapons of mass destruction just to start a war in the middle east for oil? We might never know but there is so much true evidence out there that proves that tho was all done by the U.S. but we continue on with our lives not doing anything about this president and politicians who have just become an enemy of this country.
The government is full of lies, and secrets will always be kept secret. What we need to do is pay more attention to who the hell is running this country and what they are saying and doing. This whole lying deal has been getting rose over the years and will continue to do so. Why continue to be lied to, why be manipulated and brainwashed? As stated in the article, "The worst outcome would be for everyone to give up -- for voters to conclude that all politicians lie, " this will destroy our way of who we really want to have to run this country. Democracy? This is turning into a secret dictatorship
Politicians lie because the public(us) doesn’t want to hear the thru. If candidates want to win the election, they better start lying, because the guy who's telling us the truth doesn't have a chance. People only vote for politicians who tell them what they want to hear.As Americans we have become accustomed with politicians lying to us during campaigns.
Why lie? Why should we accept thier lies? There is no point. for us to vote for a group of politicians that lie. Having a democracy and all of us having the equal opportunity to vote for a leader of this country to give and guide us to a better way of life is the point for voting; to be safe and functional. Why continue wanting to be lied to where we can change things to how we want it? We want more jobs, better education, better healthcare, better retirement, better everything but these decisions are not goin the right way because we are not voti the right way. We need to stop depending on media (#1 liars and dramatizers) an do
Our research, use our senators, representatives, congress, and governors to spread what we think in certain decisions the state and country is making. We vote or them
too. Todays society loves lying. Even cheating in relationships have insanely risen over the recent years.
Politicians need to lie simply because they cannot tell the truth. We Americans are very "sensitive" when it comes to our nation. We are over protective and may I dare say a bit ignorant? I don't wish to offend anyone, because I am also American, however we need the people who are brave enough to govern keep the peace. That's there job. Political candidates are constantly under a microscope so anything they say is examined and then put into either the “Like” pile or the “Dislike” pile. Their goal is to win the race, and if winning means saying anything to get voters on their side, and keep them there, then so be it. WE are the ones that should take responsibility for wading through all the bullshit to find the truth; we can’t just trust what they say. It is OUR job to test these politicians and see what they are made of. It’s like Plato’s allegory of the cave: what we see, may not be what we see.
Sometimes ignorance is bliss, because knowing too much can drive us to insanity. If we really knew what was going on behind closed doors would we be able to sleep at night? Once you know something you cannot un-know it. Is it just better for America to continue accepting what the politicians tell us? It’s not there fault they have to lie and tell us what we want to hear because we just can’t handle the truth (I had to….). We have a duty to ourselves to not be lazy and work together to make this nation a better place. We need to work WITH these politicians not against them.
My question to you all is, does making promises during a campaign and not fulfilling them make them a liar?
I think a lot of these politicians make unrealistic promises that they think they can partially accomplish, but in fact they often don't have the opportunity to begin or are held back due to other issues(Obama). It sure is easy for uneducated, barely functioning average conspiracy theory loving citizens to criticize a politician and the government on a daily basis because they truly don't understand the way politics works.
Politics is like war, and winning ain't easy. A politician is like a huge target that everyone can take a shot at. There's a difference in asserting the fact that you'll indefinitely accomplish something, and saying that you will TRY to get something done. Misinterpreting and skewing a politicians goals is easy to do, and it is done on a daily basis. Look a little deeper and you'll see that not every politician is like that - and the one's who are will often be called out on it by the people(Hint; Occupy Wall St. Movement)(Ron Paul). So no, as far as i'm concerned my generation is actually not letting politicians get away with lying at the same frequency that prior generations were allowing it. I believe we live in a time where politicians are become more aware of a society that's becoming much more interconnected and news spreads literally at the speed of light throughout the world. Their reputations and professional careers are at stake and the one's who constantly lie will probably not last long. Sometimes, they lie for the sake of national security and welfare, for the sake of national tranquility, for the sake of your sanity, and to maintain equilibrium throughout the states.
But this leads to another issue of being truthful regardless of the repercussions and consequences that would erupt. Remember, There's a difference between a politician being exaggerated for the sake of getting ahead in his campaign, and a malevolent lie which seeks to harm the public's welfare once elected. Also, hiding top secret info is not the same as lying. It is usually done for the security of our country. Keeping secrets from the public is OFTEN done for the better(National security). If you were ever in a position of power, I believe you'd understand. Lastly, euphemisms are often confused with lies in the political affairs. They are not the same. Is it moral to mask the truth with more "soft" language? Well that's a different discussion in and of itself.
As for the truly malicious politicians who get away with lying, they are simply able to because of the rampant political apathy that's plaguing our nation. Not enough people are involved or up to date with the state of our countries policies and endeavors(Also, they don't understand economics and how the system works well enough). A politician is more or less a puppet through which people gets their desires accomplished on the larger scale. An ineffective one will not get re-elected. They're able to get away with lying because the population is extremely gullible and does not ask for the facts and details. Either that, or they are stupid enough to fall for the unrealistic expectations that they hold. So they believe unrealistic goals presented to them. Lack of common sense. My advice? Well, as physicist David Deustch suggested, apply Poppers Criterion of falsifiability to politics. Become concerned with a rational political system that makes it as easy as possible to detect, and persuade a leader that a policy is bad, and remove them without violence if they are.
-Luis Fernandez
^Excuse me for my bad grammar. I'm typing this from my phone while on a long car ride.
-Luis Fernandez
It is not new to anyone that we live in a world full of lies. The first liars are politicians that when elections comes they postulated and they try to gain people’s vote lying and telling people what they want to hear. They lie to make themselves look better in front of the world in order to receive the majority of votes. Another reason why politicians lie so much is not because they are pathological liars, sometimes it is because we expect too much of them (in a lot of cases impossible things) and they are forced to lie to keep people happy. The 1988 presidential election is an example of this. We can recall the famous lie, "Read my lips, no new taxes" was the famous lie that Bush told over and over again. Once he became president, however, Bush raised taxes as a way to reduce the national budget deficit. One of the problems that it taking places right now is the controversy with the dream act. It allows immigrants'sstudent to study to obtain a career. Obama is saying that if he became president again this year he is going to work hard in order to put in practice the dream act. In not saying that if he take the presidency, maybe he will give those people the opportunity to become professionals, but in certain point he is saying that to obtained more votes. We all know that there are a lot of people undocumented in this country and he is saying what people what to hear and it makes them happy. We have to take conscience and make sure we vote for the right person, maybe lies never stop but we can make a better world choosing somebody that really care our necessary and problems.
Politicians get away with lying because they can, so they will continue to. The political world is a game politicians’ play and the end result is power and money. The public aid politicians to lye but deny their part in the problem. The public wants to hear what they want too and whichever politician severs the best line that will benefit their needs (which most promises are broken the moment politicians are elected) the public will buy. We belong to a party nation we don’t elect who is the best man for the job, we don’t really care. We just want our party to win; ultimately, we want to win! No one wants to be on the losing team! We no longer care to check the facts and the politicians are aware of this, so they continue to falsify information evidently with no discernment. We complain about wanting change and the political lies to stop, but what the public is really saying is we don’t want to know when you’re lying as long as you try to make us happy in some way! Politicians will never stop lying because we are too lazy to make them be accountable for their actions. When we unite as one nation and not by parties and elect the best person for the job based on facts and the candidate’s record we will continue to be part of the problem. Don’t complain about a problem if you’re not going to aid in finding a solution to the problem!
To start with, generalizing is not a good idea and even less in a controversial topic like this one that talks about politicians and their lies. Saying that all politicians lie is hard to prove. However, history has proved that a big number of politicians have used the advantages of lying to convince people about different matters that supported his or her future plans and career. As this article mentions, we have the case of Clinton and Colin Powell who affirmed something that was not really true. Statistics show that lying is a common pattern of many politicians. We should never just accept the partnership of politicians and lies without doing something.
Election time is one of the periods in which the use of lies is used, most of the times, as a powerful tool to get people’s vote. It is possible to mention a lot of promises that are made during election time and that never become true when the person gets the desired position. In this case, the most important question will be why do they lie if they are suppose to be saying the truth about what they are going to do for our nation in the future? The article explains that they do it to compete against the lies of his or her rivals. However, why do their rivals lie? Is it just because of a tradition? It is definitely not the root of the problem because winning an election with the truth means less pressure because the politician will never be accused of lying in the long run. This need for lying is due to the lack of skepticism in the voters. Voters are waiting for the perfect politician who will do magic to give them all what they have in their head without even analyzing the current situation of the country. After hearing these dreams, what politicians do is affirming that they are going to make those wishes come true without even knowing if it is possible. The politician who makes the most promises that will make those dreams come true and puts them in the most beautiful way is the one who receives the most votes.
To stop this lying chain that starts in the head of the voter trying to find the perfect politician and ends on the politician lying to be an exact replication of the voter’s dream, our best tool is to be informed and become as skeptic as possible. We have to be informed about our present, idealize the future and be able to predict the number of steps to build the bridge that will connect those two stages. If you know that there are more or less 20 steps to move from point A to point B, and there is a magician politician who will do it in 5 steps do not vote for that one unless you want to lie to yourself. Vote for the one that says that he or she is going to do same thing but in 50 steps. This person who will take 50 steps is saying a hard truth “It will take more time and it is not as easy as you want it to be. However, it is something achievable and I will work to try to get there”. It is clear that today we want a better economy. Every politician today is talking about this topic and promises are being made. As voters, we would all love to hear that by voting for person “X” we will be able to have a Ferrari and a stable job that will pay for it in 2 years. However, we have to be clear that it is not that easy. If we had to choose between this person “X” and a person “Y” who just says that jobs are going to improve a 0.00001% and we are basing our vote in truth, it will definitely be better to vote for person “Y”.
... (continuation)
Being skeptic and well informed should be our responsibility if we want to stop this chain of lies. Asking a person running for office what he or she is going to do is not enough. It is also important to know why and how they are going to do that. If we know that politicians lie and we are not well informed and skeptic during elections, we, as voters, become more irresponsible than the politicians. It is our power to decide the future of our nation by deciding who is going to represent us in front of the whole world. For that reason, it is our responsibility to show to those politicians who lie that we are no so naïve as their lies think we are. In this way, we may be creating more responsible politicians who will think twice before promising something they won’t be able to afford. It is better to practice doubt than lamenting for having done something.
@Mellisa
I say it's better to know whats really happening than to wonder and try to figure out what the real truth is. Allowing politicians to lie to us because "we can't handle it" is over the top. This is life, nothing can't be perfect and we should know what is going on so WE THE PEOPLE can decide what to do accordingly. Like i said, this is becoming a dictatorship. Its becoming a one man team controlling the country and we are letting him tell us what we need to do. Politicians see that this is the most common way for Americans to think so they take advantage of it. They manipulate us to do things they want us to do and think. We have become scared of the government and it is getting worse.
Whether big or small, a lie is a lie and there's no justification to lying. The sad part is that we, as Americans have accepted their lies when we vote for certain politicians and then we become enraged when those certain promises that enticed us to vote for them in the first place, do not come to see the light of day. People lie everyday, whether they are politicians or normal citizens, but why do we really even have to lie? The biggest problem we have is that we do not like to hear the truth let alone accept it when it is presented to us. Since we do not live in a perfect world, we either continue to accept the lies of politicians or we actually stand up and make a change about it. If we loved our country so much and were patriotic about the things that take place in America, then we as Americans should be patriotic enough to stop accepting lies and actually begin to accept the truth whether good or bad. For as long as we continue on with poor system, then the longer it will keep taking place. We cannot rely on outside sources to give us information; we need to be the ones seeking out the truth so that we will not be taken as fools (even though by letting these lies and broken promises continue, then we are being played like fools). So whose fault is it really, the politicians who lie to us or us, who accept these lies being made to us?
The lies of politics are obvious. We are too scared to face them. As stated above about Bush and Obama, they have made promises before being elected but have never been followed through with.Issues with taxes, healthcare, economy and the troops are topics widely spoken and demanded in the past decade. Have any of these been fixed? Some have very lightly been improved but media puts it alllll over the news to make it seem that it's been fixed. Then in 3 or 4 years when Americans start to complain about it again then they improve it a pinch more and make it sound like everything is fine and dandy. This is what politicians and the government are doing. Troops in Afghanistan and Iraq is the biggest so far because it's effecting the economy and national security. Me, a soldier of the U.S. Army, have been deployed to Afghanistan for a year and i can tell you that this "War on Terror" is biggest bullcrap politicians have fed us. We waste trillions of dollars on the Afghan people that don't even want us in their country. They have lived all their life living the way they have, it is their way of living and they are used to it. Speaking with the locals i have nothing but "Why are you Americans here? Go Home!," "When you leave, everything will go back the same way it was so you are wasting your time," "You guys bring nothing but trouble." But even then they ask for us to build them wells, and schools (that will be late blown or used as a safe house for Taliban), and clinics (They will sell al the medicine on the black market), etc. Do we give it to them? Yes, because our 'Commander in Chief' says yes. Why? I have no damn clue but just telling you this do you really think we are doing any good? Why not use all this money to work on our national security, to protect our borders, to better the lives of the American people instead of the people of a country that do not want us to help. Obama in his State of the Union addressed that we should repair the road here at home than those in Afghanistan and Iraq. He said the same exact lines in his other State of the Unions. Just recently, we took all our troops out of Iraq. Obama stated, before he becomes president, that troops will be out Iraq and Afghanistan as son as he gets elected. Did that happen? Not exactly. Yes we pulled out of Iraq(about time) but that is after how many billion and trillion of dollars wasted? Yes we got Saddam but this could of been done differently instead of having thousands of troops killed and thousands more injured. And now in Afghanistan it's going to take 4 years to withdrawal all of the troops out. Why? We might never know because we are scared of the truth? Does the U.S. government want world power? Why do we continue to fight other's fights? What are the real reasons for fighting these wars? The answers are all underneath the lies that the politicians are feeding us because we are so easily handled like lab rats on an exercise wheel. We need to start worrying about tomorrows satisfaction and not just today's. Wanting to know the truth is the way we all need to go. This is America, we have our freedoms, rights, duties, and responsibilities as citizens of this country. We live by the Constitution,where it sates many things about us knowing information and decisions on the government but politicians have implemented laws to cover these rights up and make it illegal. Do we challenge it?(We have the right to challenge it) We don't because we are not caring. Let's start caring and get things done to make this the country it's suppose to be like.
I believe that Americans tolerate politicians that lie because we have no other choice; all of them lie.
Politicians lie because they can with no consequences, unless they get caught in the act. Unfortunately for us, most lies are passed as truths and for what? So politicians can get to the position they want. It's hard to believe that many politicians first priority is the citizens and the country. Therefore,we have empty promises and our economy keeps getting worst but the politicians are getting paid, and those who get paid are the ones who can lie the best.
I also think that if there was an honest politician, they wouldn't win because America wouldn't like what they are proposing, because in this economy, the truth hurts.
Lying is and has always been a constant in our life. Most of our actions are driven and motivated by our ego, our thirst to appeal good among a big group of people. We all have multiple lives or selves with the rise of social network. Politics resembles this, as if think of a politician, as an individual who is trying to convince, gather multitudes for a common goal - "the politician's goal" - thus he has to make false promises in order to accomplish something. Probably not all their campaign proposals are thrown out of the blue. I believe they believe in their proposals and how it can benefit our society. But understanding the political system of the country, can make us realize that what impediments these promises from coming true, is the congress or senate standing in the way.
What has caused politicians to be dishonest is that as any other profession, money is an issue. Politics stopped protecting for our well being, for the sanity and improvement of a society as a whole, when it became a profession. When it became a mean for a certain individual to achieve wealth.
We are not doomed. If we want our voice, our liberty and democracy to prevail we must act. Instead of searching for problems, we have to be in search of the light of solutions. Instead of creating an atmosphere that our system has been condemned to nasty politicians; we shall start creating an habitat that harnesses our most cherished values, and among them liberty, democracy. Why don't we act? Why don't we stop talking, and start acting? If there's one thing that history has taught us, is that when a society decides to act together, it can accomplish great things. And it can let the voice penetrate the most silenced places in our country.
Many american students are attending schools throughout the whole United States, but are they really prepared before they start attending school. One question that should be looked at carefully, do many parents educate their own children at home? I truly believe that a variety of parents want their children to successed in life, but really they don't want to struggle, or deal with any trials and tribulations. As you can see, high school senior students who are Latio, and African American are labeled to do math and reading skills, which an 13 year old white student could accomplish while in middle school. I know for a fact this is not a true statement, but family and their environment play a major role. Parents must encourage their kids to study more often, read books, and simply encourage their kids that anything is possible.It's not only the parents fault, in the classroom the teachers are teaching the children not the parent, and to be honest many teachers do not care about their students and want them to fail. The way a child is brought up from his household, and the education he or she receive will help in the future.
James Rachels argues that the truth having value is essential for complex society. I cannot help but agree with this stance. Without language and effective communication, meaningful society would simply be impossible. With no value placed on truth, statements would mean nothing, as their truth could not be presumed. One could extend this argument specifically to representative democracy. A system based around the people electing politicians to represent their interests based on those politicians’ platforms will completely crumble if it cannot be presumed that those politicians are being truthful. Further, politics is not a machine meant to be exploited for individual interests. I side with Václav Havel when he says that politics should be “practical morality.” Politicians often lie out of their own self-interest, and such a practise entirely ignores the reason their job even exists, which is to serve the country and its citizens and make their lives better. One could argue that it is permissible to lie if, so to speak, the means justify the end. However, this undermines the democracy that we so cherish and tends us toward democratic centrism, a system that has proven dangerous in China and the Soviet Union. As much as we do entrust politics to these people, we do so only with an idea of what they will do; it would be unwise to simply let them lie to us because they think they know what is best in the end. Having now established that politicians ought to tell the truth, we must be cognizant of the fact that it is easy for a vicious cycle to arise. That is, the more politicians lie, the more we come to accept it as an inevitability, and the more we do that, the more they are able to lie. It seems that we should then adopt a less tolerant attitude toward such practises to help disrupt that cycle.
-Elvis Hatcher
Thomas Paine once said, “Government, even in its best state, is but a necessary evil[…] Government, like dress, is the badge of lost innocence; the palaces of kings are built upon the ruins of the bowers of paradise.”
Politicians have a job, and it is to show us our way back into moral virtue, and into economical and scientific development, but unfortunately as we have seen in the newspapers and TV news, this concept is far from reality.
Some politicians have lead countries into wares, famines, and underdevelopment. They promise great things but at the end do nothing. People vote for them thinking that these men and women are righteous and truthful just to see years later than these men have manipulated the truth to feed their own greed. But who is the one to blame for this?
To be a leader means that you know how to make others believe that the truth is with you because whoever holds the truth holds the power.
That is why some people are easy to trick into overlooking the mistakes of their favorite candidate. Republicans will stick to their candidates no matter how poorly they behave just because they believe that the Republican Party is the one that truly represents the moral values and economic interests of the American people. Like religious fanatics, they would not question the wrong actions of the members of their party; on the contrary, they would pretend that they never happened. Democrats are the same too with their candidates. They would never vote for someone from a different political party even if they know that he or she would probably do a better job, only because they have to be loyal to their own party. They cannot open their minds to accept that someone else might be right too.
As voters we must question our candidates. We have to chose the right candidate out of their merits nor just because he or she belongs to our dear political party.
We must know how to discern the factors that matter to the ones that don’t.
When Clinton had a sexual encounter with his assistant, did this affect the economy or the wellbeing of the American people? No. it made some people uncomfortable because he denied it. Clinton should have never lied because for something so irrelevant, he gave an excuse to his political enemies to undermine all his merits. When Collin lied about the weapons of mass destruction, did this affect our country?
Yes it did. It sent thousands of young women and men to lose their lives into ware that left the economy of the United States almost broke. So this kind of lying does matter, especially when lives are at stake. Bush should have never lied because thanks to him thousands of innocent people died.
If you compare these two cases, we see that whatever a politician chooses to do in his private life sometimes has far less consequences in a country that what he or she does at work.
The problem is that in a country like this where moral hypocrisy prevails, people are often more concern with the sexual behavior of their politician than with their jobs are leaders. Some voters don’t know how to separate their moral creeds from the rest of things that really help a country grow. They tend to overlook the important things, the factors that really matter when they cast their votes. So at the end it is our own fault when things go wrong in our government.
Politicians get away with lying because lying has been woven into the fabric of American society. Plenty of those who can reprimand lying politicians have gotten to their positions through the same means, so they disregard this inappropriate behavior. Many times lying becomes a way to hide a hidden agenda. For instance, a powerful corporation needs a law passed to assume and use a piece of land to produce a certain material, it’s difficult to get the law passed because its a known fact that this development will bring harm to local residents through the excess of pollutants. The heads of the corporation will give money to various politicians to win over the vote in their favor, and these politicians will fabricate many lies to enrich themselves. I believe that money and power is the root cause associated with political lies, greed has gone unchecked for far too long. Those that elect politicians to office should hold them responsible for the words that come out of their mouths, every promise made and not kept, they should be held accountable for. If they will not honor their word, then those who has entrusted them should see to it that they never win another election. If politician come under this kind of scrutiny, then those after them will be more careful when it comes to these deceptive ways.
As mentioned above, there is a type a lying that does matter to our country. Personal life has nothing to do with running this country and some can argue that if a president cheated on his/her wife then they are liars. Then media shows up and tells the whole world and people believe it even if it's a lie. Now his is the exactly why politicians now lie. They see how media brainwashes us and they use it. They use it to feed us lies and we will believe it's try because the media presented it.
On the long run, is it truly the fault of politicians why they lie? I believe not, the fault falls on us Americans.
Lying and politics go hand in hand, since the beginning of time when the monarchs ruled to our modern day communists. Lying still prevails in the United States and especially right now when we are about to vote for a president to run this country for another fours years.
I wouldn't say that we, the american people, are completely gullible to the lies these politicians spew over and over through their campaigns and advertisement. I believe that we simply need someone to believe in, to instill in us the hope that things will get better. We are inclined to believe these lies. But we have to somehow sift through all the lies and find some genuine hope in the people we want to run our country.
Lastly, I think we should be looking at the bigger picture. Our government is corrupt and selfish, the only people they want to help is themselves. We have to vote for the people who really care for what the american people need. We need to put an end to the manipulation and greed. To set aside our own beliefs and pick the right person who has the needs of the american people at heart.
According to the article, I think the problem lies among us the people.The reason I say this is because we are allowing the politician to keep lying instead of calling them out for their false statement.In fact,Siesla Book states"lying has become norm of politics." When is it normal for politician to lie and who made up this decision? I believe that politicians get away with lying because many people are use to them lying so, it is normal. I believe it is not okay for a politician to lie because people lie it is a problem.So, it should be more serious when a politician lie because they are representing us and politics.So, it is unacceptable for politicians to lie.
Lying, whether by evading the answer or giving a false statement, should not be a getaway for politicians when faced with important questions. If politicians should make their efforts in building trust, why lying? I think that the issue can be addressed in different ways. I believe sometimes politicians speak to say what they know people want to hear, even if it means lying. It plays a major role in the campaign, where politicians absolutely contradict themselves in order to gain “votes”. We are constantly accepting empty promises, and speeches that have nothing to state. I have talked to many other students as the elections are coming up, and I think that an arising issue related to this fact is that people feel deceived and lose interest in getting involved with the political life. They believe all candidates are the same; their way of campaigning is criticizing the other party and their promises change according to whom they speak. But if we stop carrying, what will our future be like? With politicians who get away with lying and a population that gives up on fighting for truth and leadership. Why should we let our politicians lead our country, if we can’t trust them?
Politicians are sort of like the crush you had in kindergarten who concentrated on being appealing to you only to get the last cookie in your lunchbox. They will say whatever they can, true or false, to have their "cookie" and eat it too. It seems like in the process of trying to gain the power of leadership now a days people must follow a protocol contradicts what a leader stands for, honesty and consideration. Political figures have gotten used to the idea of lying since it was discovered that even the slightest bend of any truth can benefit or defeat a party without the truth being discovered, not to mention these lies are funded to be kept secret (the bribe game). So how exactly do we, the people, benefit from these empty promises that fool us after the damage is done? Well, we don't. We just have to be conscious and more attent when we're considering ballots and we must research to find any lose ends before its too late. Because although it may seem to you that a certain political figure is fair, reasonable and trustworthy, it may not be so once they get what they want from you. Just look at Fidel Castro and Hugo Chavez, just to name a couple.
Politicians in my opinion are, funny talented people, I mean you must be funny and talented to entertain and brainwash enormous amounts of people with their lies and promises. The bad thing about it is that they don’t entertain people to have fun, they do it so in that way is easier to get their votes, EX: I am a politician, would you vote for me if I tell you that I will solve the problem even though I know that it has no solution, or if I tell you that the problem can’t be solve so keep living with it. People sometimes prefer to live in a hope than in the real world and the difference is that in the real world sacrifices must be done in order to succeed.
Politicians get away with lies because we allow them to; and in sort of kind of way they always appear with solutions when voters are in need, telling them that a better world is possible and telling people how they can make it happen, and what is needed it to make it happen? Vote for me and you will see change .That’s all what they care about at the end of the day. I guess for people when someone tells them that a solution to their problems will be found, people just forget about the problem because is no part of their priority anymore, since they believe that someone else is already taking care of the problem. Another interesting point I would say is that how they won’t get away with lies if most of the time younger people don’t vote because is not of their interest ,or those that are willing to vote even know what is going on in their own country, I will said ignorance and lack of interest is the cause of it. People don’t stand up to politicians that are not solving the problems the communities have. What all this is doing is giving politicians more freedom to get always with their lies and to avoid the questions that need to be answered.
Minorities are limiting themselves. Everyone wants the easy way out. Then they have a pile of excuses of why they cant accomplish anything in life. The lack of knowledge can destroy a human's mind. A lot of minorities are afraid of change or the outcome of change.Whether its good or bad. Politician are professional liars who lie until they accomplish something. In my opinion every Politician lies unitl they can't lie anymore or until they get caught. when is America going to have a truthful Politician? I dont see he/she coming anytime soon.
One of the easiest ways to lie is to arrange your words in a way that makes people want to believe you. You state your claim in such a way that the listener might even feel guilty for having doubted you in the first place. You appeal to the prejudices and/or the emotions of the listener and you’ll have them repeating your claim to others so passionately that anyone else will think the original listener was there to verify to the claim. This is otherwise known as demagoguing and many politicians find this as an effective tool to win support. No matter how outrageous the claim, if they have a great understanding of what the passions of the people are, they will get them to believe almost anything, regardless of the facts.
Now many (not the majority) Americans take time to critically think about what it is each politician is saying as well as what they’re not saying. If it’s something they are unsure about, they fact check it before they cast any judgment. The problem is nowhere near enough Americans do this so many politicians get away with lying. Even the politicians who get caught understand that Americans tend to have short memory so they come back a few months/years later and act as if nothing ever happened. When we as a society are so lazy at searching for the truth, can we really blame politicians for continuing to lie and deceive us? They have no incentive to do otherwise. The good honest politicians have very little incentive to run for office if they know Americans will simply believe the lies that come from their opponent’s mouths. We Americans often like to see it as “picking the lesser of two evils” because we just grown accustomed to lying politicians. This is a grave mistake. We should always be skeptic of ALL politicians and rarely should we take what is said as face value. A wise man once said “If men were angels, no government would be necessary. If angels were to govern men, neither external nor internal controls on government would be necessary.” When James Madison helped framed our constitution, he knew that politicians could not be trusted entirely and it would be a mistake of the people to do such a thing.
So should we have a commitment to the truth? Absolutely. We owe it to our government to keep them honest and more importantly, we owe it to ourselves.
Politicians make promises they have no intention of keeping. That’s not a new thing for anybody. But the other factor that encourages politicians to lie is our willingness to keep re-electing proven liars. Incumbents are practicing learned behavior. They lie their faces off in order to win their seats, they break their promises after winning and then we as an electorate reward the behavior by forgiving them and falling for their lies yet again in the next election.
What can we do about this? I think that what we need is to keep track of what they’ve done about what they said to get elected. And before voting for them, people should know more about their candidates; do some kind of research on their history of politics.
When we elect politicians based on unreasonable mandates, don’t express shock when the promises are broken. When the electorate is prepared to vote for politicians with realistic mandates, we will see a reduction in broken promises.
Eric Diniz
Politicians have a great sneaky trick under their belt. But before discussing what the trick is, why do Americans constantly give the same type of people the power over them? Americans try to make their own version of what "should" be leading them. instead of having the issues as a top priority, they believe that other things are more important. The most important thing is image for many Americans. How a president carries themselves, How "American" and yet "Sophisticated" that they look. These values steer the american mind away from the issues that they should care about. After the complete image is begotten there is a shallow promise given to every citizen. The politicians give the lies that no one can guarantee. When they come up empty handed, it is very easy to point fingers at other politicians for not doing their jobs. Because promises to begin with were unattainable.
First of all, just realized I may have posted my last weeks post under a different T-Thursday class (was on time though)...Anyways, this is a very serious issue. Most if not all politicians lie to make themselves appear as the perfect candidate for whatever they may be running for, and typically the best liar wins. There is no point for Americans or anyone else to put up with it anymore,we should educate ourselves on the politicians running for office and do our research before voting for them because it seems like they're not doing their part properly. It's our responsibility to educate ourselves and make the best decision we can when voting.
Politicians will ALWAYS LIE about everything!! and the problem is America excepts it. So Much secrets are hidden in this Politic world...who knows what true, and what is false.
As a society, we see jobs that have to do with politics as a very high level of power, a spot where only the elite leaders should be. However, many of those leaders that we have in government are very dirty and are very used to lying in order to get their way. In America, the fight over the power is generally republicans vs democrats, not the public who should be caring. Why should civilians care? Because we are affected everyday by the decisions that these leaders of our country decide to carry on.
Should we have a commitment to the truth? Good question, but there is no true answer to it. The right thing to do is to be truthful with your country, however these leaders do not really care about what we feel or what benefits us, what they really care about is their position and their salaries. Yes as individuals living in this country we should care about what they are doing, the lies they are saying, and the treats they are making. The problem is that we do not have enough time to live our everyday lives and still worry about all the lies that are being spread throughout our government, and therefore our country. We should try to do something, but it is much easier to worry about ourselves, our family, and forget about those so called “elite” leaders that lie in order to lead our country.
Daniel Rincon
Politicians lie to win. They don't really mean what they say, its all a game. People are quick to vote on what sounds like the truth without having done the research to fulfill its trustfulness. Many people can't handle the truth, we the people would like to hear "We're going to reconstruct the economy, we're going to create more jobs" that keeps people interested because they target the things we need.
I believe politicians are able to lie their ways through the elections because they are very strategic about their lies and know how to skew their words so that people fall for them. To them they are white lies, and they aren't necessarily always about themselves. They approve AD campaigns bashing other candidates, using strong epithets that can ruin their chances at winning, and although to them it may seem like a clever strategy to gain votes for themselves, they are inauthentically lampooning others with false words. But no, it's all a master plan according to them. Also, let's take in account the latest Republican Debate on CNN where 4 of the remaining Republican candidates stood and began to rebuttal ideas. Each and every one of them lied at one point or another, whether the lie was big or small, I believe that at a certain point, the politicians begin to believe that their constituents are so wrapped up in their beliefs that they are willing to believe anything they say without fact checking them. It has gotten very out of hand, but politics is known for this. We cannot be surprised by their fallacies. It is solely based on creating this perfect facade, where they are the perfect people to run the country of America and sway our opinions to fit their wants.
-Brittany Esquijarosa
Politicians lie because they will say anything to make themselves look and sound good regardless of how it affects society. Many are very smart so they are excellent manipulators. In the case with Bill Clinton, he was put in a position where he had to lie or risk being impeached. In this case I don't blame him for lying since it was more of a personal thing than anything that had to do with our society. The lies that presidential candidates make for example just so they can win an election are the ones they should be held accountable for. This is one of the many reasons many people do not trust politicians. If these people are running our country than they should be honest at all times. They're supposed to set the example. We are all humans so we can all understand when things do not turn out the way their intended to. As long as we are not being lied to, we can trust our leaders and forgive them when things don't work out.
Politicians might lie when they think they will get away with it, hoping that enough people will be misled and that others won't hold it against them. Also, they lie to protect or advance what they see as a moral endeavor, like invading Iraq or cutting off welfare queens. The public recognizes that politics is full of gray areas, and that politicians will always try to render them in black and white. The worst outcome would be for politicians to lie when they think that they will get away with it, hoping that enough people will be misled and that others won't hold it against them. It is said that voters and politicians alike should set their standards for honesty higher. This calls for doing their best distinguish between lies and honest mistakes; between lies that have been proved and lies that are only suspected; between deception through outright lies, half-truths and silence; between foolish promises or predictions and knowingly false ones; and between slipping into a lie and undertaking a policy of deceit choosing to be someone who deals with others throug deceit. Politicians lie because their job is to win elections and they say what they think they need to say to win. for us voters, separating the truth from lies is often hard or they vote on basis of something other than truthfulness of the candidate, perhaps on the theory that they all do it.
Politicians might lie when they think they will get away with it, hoping that enough people will be misled and that others won't hold it against them. Also, they lie to protect or advance what they see as a moral endeavor, like invading Iraq or cutting off welfare queens. The public recognizes that politics is full of gray areas, and that politicians will always try to render them in black and white. The worst outcome would be for politicians to lie when they think that they will get away with it, hoping that enough people will be misled and that others won't hold it against them. It is said that voters and politicians alike should set their standards for honesty higher. This calls for doing their best distinguish between lies and honest mistakes; between lies that have been proved and lies that are only suspected; between deception through outright lies, half-truths and silence; between foolish promises or predictions and knowingly false ones; and between slipping into a lie and undertaking a policy of deceit choosing to be someone who deals with others throug deceit. Politicians lie because their job is to win elections and they say what they think they need to say to win. for us voters, separating the truth from lies is often hard or they vote on basis of something other than truthfulness of the candidate, perhaps on the theory that they all do it.
We are now raising the question on morality, when should we lie? When is it justified, and in what situations is a lie suitable for the better good. Due to the nature of this question, controversy is a factor on the decision, so the line between “right or wrong” in this circumstance is very undefined. I personally believe that lies are an useful tool to lead the masses into thinking what you want, but as any tool it could be overused and turned against yourself. Based on my readings of Machiavelli (political philosophy) I believe a lie should be “observed” from a bias standpoint, but still able to look at the bigger picture. Allow me to give you an example of my understanding: Global Warming, due to an overwhelming consensus from the scientific community, and an endless amount of images that support this global threat; I came to the conclusion that it is real, and it is a threat to human kind. But let’s suppose that it was all just a hoax and a lie; now think about it… what did the “hoax” lead us too? Look for other sources of energy (green energy in this case), people became more aware of environmental issues, therefore many associations were created to protect the environment. More eco-friendly products were created… which manufacturing released less Carbon monoxide into the atmosphere, took fewer resources from nature, and limited the environmental impact of their exploits. Such “lie” leads us to so many important changes in our society, which granted some improvements in our environment. Now lies don’t seem too bad to they? Sometimes lies are necessary to grant social stability and avoid chaos, suppose Poland or France during the German invasion in World War II told its population the truth? That there was no way they could stop the German invasion in the case of an invasion? That would have created panic in the population and looting/killings and rape would be occurred all over the country. Or what about when someone is about to die? And they are asking you “What was going on?” Wouldn’t you omit the fact that he/she was dying? In order to allow the process of dying smoother? As I stated before, lies are an useful tool that could be used in many ways, but it doesn’t change the fact that it is just a tool, the only way to really categorize it as right or wrong is by analyzing its objective and meaning. Therefore I have come to the conclusion that lying in politics is completely justified, and the proper way to categorize them as “good or wrong” is by understanding its meaning, and looking beyond the average thought.
We are now raising the question on morality, when should we lie? When is it justified, and in what situations is a lie suitable for the better good. Due to the nature of this question, controversy is a factor on the decision, so the line between “right or wrong” in this circumstance is very undefined. I personally believe that lies are an useful tool to lead the masses into thinking what you want, but as any tool it could be overused and turned against yourself. Based on my readings of Machiavelli (political philosophy) I believe a lie should be “observed” from a bias standpoint, but still able to look at the bigger picture. Allow me to give you an example of my understanding: Global Warming, due to an overwhelming consensus from the scientific community, and an endless amount of images that support this global threat; I came to the conclusion that it is real, and it is a threat to human kind. But let’s suppose that it was all just a hoax and a lie; now think about it… what did the “hoax” lead us too? Look for other sources of energy (green energy in this case), people became more aware of environmental issues, therefore many associations were created to protect the environment. More eco-friendly products were created… which manufacturing released less Carbon monoxide into the atmosphere, took fewer resources from nature, and limited the environmental impact of their exploits. Such “lie” leads us to so many important changes in our society, which granted some improvements in our environment. Now lies don’t seem too bad to they? Sometimes lies are necessary to grant social stability and avoid chaos, suppose Poland or France during the German invasion in World War II told its population the truth? That there was no way they could stop the German invasion in the case of an invasion? That would have created panic in the population and looting/killings and rape would be occurred all over the country. Or what about when someone is about to die? And they are asking you “What was going on?” Wouldn’t you omit the fact that he/she was dying? In order to allow the process of dying smoother? As I stated before, lies are an useful tool that could be used in many ways, but it doesn’t change the fact that it is just a tool, the only way to really categorize it as right or wrong is by analyzing its objective and meaning. Therefore I have come to the conclusion that lying in politics is completely justified, and the proper way to categorize them as “good or wrong” is by understanding its meaning, and looking beyond the average thought.
According to one of the definitions of “lie”, it states that it’s something to deceive or give a wrong impression. Politicians lie because they have some misconceptions that the public doesn’t want to hear the truth. People want to hear what they want to hear. The politician that follows what the public wants usually wins the election. However, we, people supposed to teach how we believe too fast any politicians.
First, we trust too much. People are notorious bad at detecting deception. One of the reasons that we are prone to a “trusting bias”. Our default is to believe what others tell us. Second, when we hear something from a leader, we often don’t engage in the mental effort to question the assertion. It’s sort of an apathetic, if the politicians are driving by the bus, they must know where they are going. Third, politicians and other leaders often adhere to a poor code of ethics that says the ends justify the means. The means, and being ethical, are what is really important. What we supposed to do? Question authority, become informed. Check the facts. Don’t simply believe what a leader says because he or she is in a position of authority and power. It is a good follower’s job to be a reality check on the leader.
Politicians has been doing their job for many years deceiving people in many states, changing laws, creating new ones. The main reason politics get away with lying, because they simply do not want us people to know the truth because we hold the true power. Once the people know the truth we could overcome many trials and tribulations. A group of people is power we have the power to change society, but we must rebel.
I think that, politicians lie in the attempt to give the people a sense of or an idea of what the people want to hear. Then fill up their bucket with the promise of fulfilling there deepest desire. So the people being blinded by grandiose word rush to the polls, cast their vote for a person they meet on TV. Speaking lies politicians has no intention on delivering. On the other hand the politician might have great intentions, until they run into the wall of congress, the senate, lobbyist, tea party member and the speaker of the house, all intend to derail the promises made at the beginning of the election. So we cast our money to strangers hoping for the best. The person with the most money normally gets what the politicians promise, the lobbyist with big money nine times out of ten gets what they pay for. Leaving the small man out in the cold warming them selves with the promises of a better life. I also think that emotions play a big part of the politicians’ lies. At a certain time in the political race the issue change to a personal and a more social frontal attack on society’s likes and dislikes for example pro life, pro choice, gay marriages and your religion, my religion. The lying game changes to an emotionally charged he says she says. So now the most emotional speech and the speech that drums up the most controversy wins. Then the politicians promise that if I am elected I will fight for you, it’s all about you and what you want, not me and what I want but for the people by the people. What they really mean is the people that could keep me RICH YEA. If you can do that I will if I am elected destroy all you enemies so that you could be rich just like me. Nevertheless we run to the polls for far less than this. Furthermore whether lying or not someone must win, then we live with the choices we made and wait to do it all over again in four more years.
The American diet has become a milestone to its parallel marketing industry, in which whoever invests the most in advertising receives its reward in profits. Its biggest issue has clearly been defined as the unhealthy defying of the essentials of the food pyramid, leading to an increase in chronic health problems such as morbid obesity and its derivatives.
I do, though, accept that when in need, it solves the necessity of having a fast, relatively complete meal as our bodies require so. The issue is, that as most other industries now a days, they're fed by consumerism, which also derives from the same entity.
To me, this is an issue that is seen as very underrated and as such, the government does not take action in order to repress its incontrollable outrage that is consequently leading to a variety of health issues that may even result in deaths or permanent diseases. Hopefully, there will be new campaigns supporting this anti-fast-food movement that will reinforce this mentality in people in general, which should almost be targeting parents, the peers to every child that is exposed to this problem.
Ana Federica Nava
Politicians have a great sneaky trick under their belt. But before discussing what the trick is, why do Americans constantly give the same type of people the power over them? Americans try to make their own version of what "should" be leading them. instead of having the issues as a top priority, they believe that other things are more important. The most important thing is image for many Americans. How a president carries themselves, How "American" and yet "Sophisticated" that they look. These values steer the american mind away from the issues that they should care about. After the complete image is begotten there is a shallow promise given to every citizen. The politicians give the lies that no one can guarantee. When they come up empty handed, it is very easy to point fingers at other politicians for not doing their jobs. Because promises to begin with were unattainable.
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