Sorry to be late, but I fogot to post the following column when it ran in the Albuquerque Tribune, Feb. 23.
TRUE LIES
We all do it, but when prevarication becomes policy at the highest level, we’re in a sorry state
By Arthur Alpert
So the salesman said to me, "Well, how much were you thinking of spending?"
Buying a car? No. That line from the auto salesman’s Bible was uttered by a guy selling eyeglasses! Revelation: the big optical shops play shell games, too.
The radio-CD-phonograph I’ve eyed at an Albuquerque department store cost $90 in December. It’s 20% off today - off $149.95, that is.
And Merck’s TV ad says my health is its first concern.
Commercial lies are no big deal, of course. (Shrug.) That’s business. (Shrug.) Just patronize the decent business people you know, caveat emptor elsewhere and …well, shrug.
And as for lies, who doesn’t?
I lie a lot to be kind: "It’s my fault, not yours."
I lie to smooth social life: "Love these (inedible) hors d’oeuvres."
I lie (infrequently, shamefully) to extricate myself from a terrible spot.
And I may also lie unconsciously. We humans can persuade ourselves that X is Y, then prevaricate quite sincerely.
But what about government lies – the kind that kill.
To foist the Iraq tangent on the nation, the Administration employed a few big lies. Prosecuting it incompetently and corruptly has required a veritable Katrina of untruths.
All governments lie, of course, but I sense that today’s rulers lie more often than, say 35 years ago, and more viciously. The Watergate crew? Softies.
Unfortunately, calling a liar on his lies sets up a never-ending tit-for-tat, diverting us from solutions. If we don’t, though, we lose democracy.
Oh, to scan the pulsing cortexes of the President, his men and media acolytes. I’d like to think they’re honest liars, having persuaded themselves that white is black before telling us so.
But we know these moral leaders hid the real cost of the Medicare prescription drug bill from their fellow Republicans in the House to pass it. We know these prayerful folks tortured, too. And now - eavesdropping:
Last year, the President told a Buffalo, N.Y. crowd his Administration gets court orders before listening to us. Years earlier, he secretly approved the opposite - no court approval. A boomer moment? Perhaps, but consider this: Critics in both parties agreed the US should listen in on al Qaeda but said do it under law. One White House response said (pretended) that the critics oppose tracking al Qaeda – a knowing lie.
For more on White House values read "State of War" (The Secret History of the CIA and the Bush Administration) .by James Risen. And weep.
For viciousness, consider the lies of character assassination. James Webb, Secretary of the Navy for Ronald Reagan, recently fired an Op Ed at White House "surrogates" he says slimed soldiers McCain, Cleland, Kerry and Murtha. Webb blames the Swiftboating on politicos "who never had the courage to step forward and put their own lives on the line."
I fear Secretary Webb is naive. This White House – in hallowed Leninist tradition - believes the end justifies the means. Since it fights for God and Country, every lie is permitted. Thus, good kids sacrifice life and limb, the comfortable, nothing.
Maybe I should apologize to the optician; let him frame me. Buy from department store that raises prices before a sale. Donate dollars to Merck. Lying for my money is, after all, relatively innocent.
As for Presidents, if they must lie, I prefer adultery – hardly innocent but not fatal.
Arthur Alpert is a semi-retired journalist in Albuquerque. Email him at ArthurAlpert@swcp.com. His column runs the fourth Thursday of the month.