Over here Glenn Greenwald (whom you can also find here, and who is consistently one of my favorite commentators on all things contemporary and political and legal) has an excellent piece on the pathological nature of the lying that exists within our current Administration. I agree with everything Glenn wrote (I feel terrible making that admission because I rarely agree with everything any writer every says; perhaps I am going soft), but I want to consider the issue of "lying in politics" from a different angle.
We often hear it said, especially by those either unaware of current affiars, or those who claim to be disillusioned with politics, that "They all do x (lie, cheat, steal)". Enough examples can be brought to bear to prove the point to those to whom the point seems self-evident, and our political system loses another active member, allowing those in power to act with that much less scrutiny. The possibility of a nation of three hundred million people, over half of whose citizens are not only not actively engaged in the affiars of running the state but feel the entire system is flawed and will not respond to their needs or wishes creates a nightmare scenario in which, well, in which we currently live.
It is not enough to say to the falsely cynical or falsely all-knowing or disillusioned that, in fact, they all don't do it, that, in truth, most politicians of whatever party are honest and hardworking and pay due diligence to their position as representatives of the people and for the people. The problem is the way the media focuses attention on sociopaths and cowards - Ann Coulter, Rush Limbaugh, Michael Ledeen, Dick Cheney, Tom DeLay - who seem unable or unwilling to account for the truth or reality. One reason I feel that the media does not correct these people in real time is they beleive the people at home understand that when those such as these (and others like them) speak, it is usually more out of their ass than out of their brain, heart, or certainly mouth. Thus, their lies go unchallenged and spread like a virus through the body politic.
A perfect example is the fake "Where's Nancy?" scheme put out first by Drudge, then repeated ad nauseum until it was brought up on MSNBC. Of course, this was something that was not only untrue, but easily disproven, yet it had some kind of wierd half-life that kept it going. Of course, the real question, and I know of only one instance where it was brought up, was "Where's Denny?" The sitting Speaker of the House, one would think, would be on all the talk shows, doing multiple interviews, out stumping for candidates, etc. Except, he's not. The reason he's not is because he knows, and his handlers in the party understand, with the Foley scandal and other scandals hovering like flies over his political corpse, Hastert is not what they would call a "hot commodity"; rather, he is "radioactive". So, rather than deal with that, a story is concocted, and spread like an overturned bucket of shit on a linoleum floor, that Nancy Pelosi is "hiding" from either the media, the public or both, when, in fact it is the case that it is the Republican leadership that is in hiding, using second-string flapping lips to get their message out this close to election day.
All of this creates an atmosphere of cynicism, disillusionment, apathy, and disengagement that only serves the status quo. The status quo is not just "dysfunctional" (to quote Richard Perle) but actively hostile to practical democracy and governance. We Americans have the opportunity to change all that tomorrow. If we want change, yet vote for any member of the current ruling party, then we are as much a part of the problem as George Bush and Dick Cheney. If we want change and do not vote, we are aiding and abetting the destruction of our Constitution and our whole way of living. If we vote, with hope and prayers and belief not only that we can be better, but that we deserve better as a nation then maybe, just maybe, we will wake up Wednesday morning to a whole new reality.
Virtual Tin Cup
