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Politics & Government

Why do Liars Lie? Why do those Engaged in Paltering and Spin Palter?

This timely topic was cleverly answered in the classic movie, Charade. A closer look can help you navigate life with fewer disappointments.

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Base image on left credit the movie Charade via still from YouTube. Text and collage elements credit: L. A. "Tony" Kovach for the Patch.
Base image on left credit the movie Charade via still from YouTube. Text and collage elements credit: L. A. "Tony" Kovach for the Patch.

Adapting this article from the Masthead linked here quickly answers the headline. Telling lies big or small as well as paltering, deception and misdirection, are nothing new. Paltering and half-truths, for example, date back to the Garden of Eden, when Satan tempted Adam and Eve to violate the one and only command that God originally gave the first man and woman. That was: don't eat of the fruit of the tree in the center of the garden. One command, and the snakelike devil tricked Adam and Eve into violating it by tempting them with a half-truth. The motivation for lies, paltering, half-truths and deceptions are routinely quite similar and the famous lines from the classic movie Charade are useful. Charade character Reggie Lampert, played by actress Audrey Hepburn, asked: “Why do people have to tell lies?” Peter Joshua, played by Cary Grant, wisely replied: “Usually it’s because they want something. They are afraid the truth won’t get it for them.”

People decieve, or try to decieve others, in order to get something that they want and they don't think the truth will get it for them.

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In business and politics when manipulation are involved the goals are usually pretty simple to figure out. Those spreading deception typically want more money, more control, and more power. There is no guessing needed. Warren Buffett said as much in an long interview on left-leaning CNBC.

https://www.manufacturedhomepronews.com/politicians-rich-want-more-power-warren-buffett-bad-guys-win-buffett-charlie-munger-interview-transcript-re/

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I plan to do a report with analysis made specifically for the Patch on the topic of the big lie how it works, and how it is beaten, as it is useful for discerning what has been and is going wrong in American society and politics through the lens of research by psychologist Tom Stafford. You can see that on MHProNews linked here, but briefly for today a few pull quotes and paraphrases of Professor Tom Stafford are useful.

  • Repetition makes [something] seem more true, regardless of whether it is or not. Understanding this effect can help you avoid falling for propaganda, says psychologist Tom Stafford.
  • “Repeat a lie often enough and it becomes the truth”, is a law of propaganda often attributed to the Nazi Joseph Goebbels.
  • According to Stafford: “recent research into how arguments [reasoning can] change minds, he shows why persuasion by reason alone can be a powerful force.”

When you look at my series of articles on the Patch, notice that they are all grounded in facts, evidence, and apply common sense. I use sources across the left-right divide and cite each source so people can see for themselves that the quotes and cited items are accurate. That’s how trust is built. By the way, in an other report I plan for the Patch in the near term, once again, local media is the most trusted, and national media is often near the bottom of trusted sources for news and views.

The point is that I think Stafford has made a very relevant point. You can persuade someone into the truth through evidence.

There are literally millions of people who believe things that are demonstrably not true. To debunk lies, spin, or half-truths, free speech is necessary. The solution to misinformation isn’t censorship. The solution is good speech that proves that problematic speech was meant to be misleading. While someone might understandably argue that you don’t shout ‘fire’ in a crowded theater (the classic argument that you can prohibit very specific kinds of public speech), that is used by some to attempt to argue that government should have the power to censor, despite the protections of the First Amendment. Those who make that kind of argument are not only wrong, but they are also dangerous. Those who push for censorship routinely have an agenda and that agenda is routinely more power, more money, and more control.

According to Pew Research:

“Democrats and Democratic-leaning independents are much more likely than Republicans and Republican leaners to support the U.S. government taking steps to restrict false information online (70% vs. 39%).

There was virtually no difference between the parties in 2018, but the share of Democrats who support government intervention has grown from 40% in 2018 to 70% in 2023, while the share of Republicans who hold this view hasn’t changed much.

…

A large majority of Democrats and Democratic leaners (81%) support technology companies taking such steps, while about half of Republicans (48%) say the same. The share of Democrats who support technology companies taking these steps has also increased steadily since 2018.”

That is odd, because it has traditionally been voices of liberals that for decades advocated for a broad right of free speech. It wasn’t so long ago that mostly left-leaning voices signed a statement in favor of more free speech, not the suppression or censorship of free speech. Some examples follow.

https://www.manufacturedhomepr...

While there are those on the right that may errantly call for censorship, it is sadly more often that it is voices from the left that are doing so now. For instance, two former Democratic presidential nominees, Hillary Clinton (D) and John Kerry (D), both made recent public statements that were video recorded saying they think that the First Amendment is a problem. That's a warning sign, a red flag.

There is much more coming, because we believe that the truth sets people free and that lies, half-truths, deception and misdirection are tactics used by those who want to get something they would likely never get if they were open and honest about their goals. That's why people lie or tell half-truths. In order to get something that they want. If you are new to this popular series, see the linked reports that follows to learn more. ##

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L. A. “Tony” Kovach and his family live in a manufactured home on private property in Winter Haven, FL. He is the co-founder of ManufacturedHomeLivingNews.com (MHLivingNews.com) and ManufacturedHomeProNews.com (MHProNews.com), trade publications serving segments of the manufactured home industry. Having worked in several segments of the manufactured home industry for over 3 decades, Kovach is a widely acknowledged and often praised expert on manufactured housing.

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