The whoppers are upon us. Not the Burger King kind, but the lying kind. You can say whatever you want. Try it. Lay a big ol’ whopping lie on us. See if we believe it. Our new Commander-In-Chief has set the bar. We may now follow.
It’s a sad state of affairs. Most of us have been raised to not lie. It’s one of those childhood lessons. Growing older, as adults, we come to understand there are times to omit certain incidents or shade what we say to protect someone. But still, the essence of handling oneself in a way that is essentially truthful is a hallmark of a good human being and a well-functioning citizen.
That is now being thrown out the door. With a new President who blatantly lies as our role model, what does that say to the rest of us? “LET IT FLY!”
Let the lies begin. If he can do it, so can we. It’s alright, folks. When the supreme leader demonstrates time and again that’s the way to operate, why not model ourselves after him?
Think of the consequences. You are in a sales position. A prospective client asks you about your product. “Oh, yes, it cleans crusted grease chunks out of your frying pan in less than two seconds. A quick wipe and you’re good.”
When the customer gets home and uses new Eradagrease Cleaner and finds your claim to be false, you can defend yourself by saying that’s the way of the world now.
Or, let’s say you sell a car to a customer, claiming the sedan gets 31 miles per gallon on average. The customer complains after six months that he’s only getting 26 mpg. You can respond, “Well everybody else gets 31. What’s wrong with your driving?”
Finger point. Deny. Obfuscate. It’s all seemed to work in this past presidential election cycle, so why not for you? It’s the new success paradigm if you want to manipulate others.
There are more than enough people who already operate this way in the world. It becomes more dangerous as this behavior is enabled by the top gun. It symbolically implies that’s an okay way to operate.
The WHOPPER is back and it’s tastier than ever. Take a big bite. Savor it.
There are so many ways this is bad for all of us, that it’s hard to determine where to begin. First, consider the quality of the lie. Is it blatant? Is it just a half-truth? You as the receiver of the lie, must work hard to figure this out. The onus on you is to disprove. Get lazy and you’ll never uncover the facts.
Second, what happens when the statement is so outrageous that you chuckle to yourself, and say, “Ha, no one could believe that.” Then people do. Red light, red light. Danger zone.
You presume people will know the statement is fake, but that turns out not be the case. You see head nods when the outrageous claim is made and you wonder what is wrong with people.
Finally, there is the lie that just sits out there and everyone knows it’s a lie. But no one calls the speaker on it. We look around, thinking, “Someone needs to speak up.” When no one does, we assume everyone knows it’s a lie. But do they?
If the President can do it, why can’t we? It’s the downfall of civilized society.
When your leader sets the boundaries, it becomes a perceived set of acceptable behaviors. Let’s all start lying. About everything.
It’s a sad state of affairs. Most of us have been raised to not lie. It’s one of those childhood lessons. Growing older, as adults, we come to understand there are times to omit certain incidents or shade what we say to protect someone. But still, the essence of handling oneself in a way that is essentially truthful is a hallmark of a good human being and a well-functioning citizen.
That is now being thrown out the door. With a new President who blatantly lies as our role model, what does that say to the rest of us? “LET IT FLY!”
Let the lies begin. If he can do it, so can we. It’s alright, folks. When the supreme leader demonstrates time and again that’s the way to operate, why not model ourselves after him?
Think of the consequences. You are in a sales position. A prospective client asks you about your product. “Oh, yes, it cleans crusted grease chunks out of your frying pan in less than two seconds. A quick wipe and you’re good.”
When the customer gets home and uses new Eradagrease Cleaner and finds your claim to be false, you can defend yourself by saying that’s the way of the world now.
Or, let’s say you sell a car to a customer, claiming the sedan gets 31 miles per gallon on average. The customer complains after six months that he’s only getting 26 mpg. You can respond, “Well everybody else gets 31. What’s wrong with your driving?”
Finger point. Deny. Obfuscate. It’s all seemed to work in this past presidential election cycle, so why not for you? It’s the new success paradigm if you want to manipulate others.
There are more than enough people who already operate this way in the world. It becomes more dangerous as this behavior is enabled by the top gun. It symbolically implies that’s an okay way to operate.
The WHOPPER is back and it’s tastier than ever. Take a big bite. Savor it.
There are so many ways this is bad for all of us, that it’s hard to determine where to begin. First, consider the quality of the lie. Is it blatant? Is it just a half-truth? You as the receiver of the lie, must work hard to figure this out. The onus on you is to disprove. Get lazy and you’ll never uncover the facts.
Second, what happens when the statement is so outrageous that you chuckle to yourself, and say, “Ha, no one could believe that.” Then people do. Red light, red light. Danger zone.
You presume people will know the statement is fake, but that turns out not be the case. You see head nods when the outrageous claim is made and you wonder what is wrong with people.
Finally, there is the lie that just sits out there and everyone knows it’s a lie. But no one calls the speaker on it. We look around, thinking, “Someone needs to speak up.” When no one does, we assume everyone knows it’s a lie. But do they?
If the President can do it, why can’t we? It’s the downfall of civilized society.
When your leader sets the boundaries, it becomes a perceived set of acceptable behaviors. Let’s all start lying. About everything.