THE sky is blue, water is wet and politicians lie. In a world awash with conflicting information, these are three truisms we can all agree on. Or can we?
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In years gone by there were consequences for a politician being caught out in a lie.
MPs would be publicly censured by their leaders, ministers would be demoted to the backbench, and voters would dispense their own form of justice at the ballot box.
There was an expectation that our politicians would be held to the same standards, if not higher, than the rest of the population, however, at some point, lying became that little bit more acceptable.
It might have been in 1998 when US president Bill Clinton infamously declared “I did not have sexual relations with that woman” in response to allegations of impropriety with White House intern Monica Lewinsky.
Of course, Mr Clinton did have sexual relations with Ms Lewinsky, but he was able to ride out the political and media storm, avoid impeachment and complete his term.
Or it might have been when propaganda, which carried with it such negative connotations, somehow was allowed to morph into the far less threatening “spin”.
Politicians armed with this new weapon in public relations could argue – with a straight face, no less – that the sky was not blue, water was not wet and that they were not lying, even when caught telling bald-faced whoppers. Think John Howard’s core and non-core distinction on promises.
It is well-documented that Donald Trump has long had a difficult relationship with the truth but, against most expectations, it has only become more pronounced since his elevation to the US presidency. His administration dismisses blatant lies as “alternative facts” and legitimate criticism as “fake news”.
Bret Stephens, a conservative columnist with the Wall Street Journal, noted recently that if a public figure “tells a whopping lie once in his life, it’ll haunt him into his grave. If he lies morning, noon and night, it will become almost impossible to remember any one particular lie”.
Mr Trump’s constant lies have the dual purpose of shrouding issues of substance while desensitising the public to mistruths. If he lies over the strength of his election win or the size of the crowd at his inauguration, what else will he lie about?
Speaking truth to power has never been more difficult, but it has never been more important. There are no degrees of honesty.
- Ross Tyson, deputy editor