There Will Be Blood…and Many More Lies
By
Cognitive Dissonance
I suppose if we randomly stopped people in the street and asked if they were an honest person, the vast majority of answers would be in the affirmative. And if we applied a generous and flexible definition to the word “honest”, I suspect people might actually be considered honest about their self declared honesty. But in truth, in all the animal kingdom we humans are the most dishonest and deceitful, particularly with ourselves.
Therefore it stands to reason we would lie about our dishonesty, to each other and especially to ourselves. One simply cannot maintain lies when they stand in the face of contrary and irrefutable truth unless an individual and cooperative self deception is employed. In effect we are all liars, of this there is little doubt. The only real question is to what degree. This assessment may be harsh, but it is not fundamentally wrong.
This point was driven home to me several decades ago when my then very young son was asking rather uncomfortable questions about lying, particularly when it was acceptable to do so and when it was not. Of course, at that age there is no acceptable lie simply because a five year old has not yet learned how and when to lie…at least in a sociably acceptable manner.
And therein lies the rub. One simply cannot avoid (though we most certainly can deny) our own hypocrisy when we sternly warn our children not to lie while our own personal cup runneth over. Of course, my lies aren’t really lies since I’m basically an honest person. See how that works?
When speaking about lies and lying, we utilize at least a hundred different modifiers and qualifiers to mitigate or dismiss the intent and intensity of our lies. There are little white lies, social lies, protective lies, defensive lies, political lies, save-my-marriage and I-love-you lies. The list is endless. If you research the subject, lies are helpfully categorized into types such as lies of commission, omission and influence aka character lies.
In a culture of lies, truth is the ugly step child nobody wishes to employ but everyone claims to own.
Lying has been described as the social lubricant. And I can’t find fault with that practical assessment simply because few wish to tell the truth if it gets in their way. While everyone claims they want the truth, no one wants to be told certain truths such as they are fat, a lousy lover, Social Security and most private pensions are bankrupt now and won’t pay out as promised, 9/11 was not what we were told it was, the only justice we receive is what we can afford to buy and the government is corrupt and also thoroughly bankrupt.
This, by the way, is not the entire list but just the appetizer. Often these are described as ugly truths, but they are only ugly because the lies we embrace to deny their existence are so much more palatable.
Reality is neither ugly nor pretty. It is what it is, no more and no less. It’s our self delusions and denial which horribly distort reality into a fantasy we feel more comfortable believing in…with lots of help, of course, from those who wish to control and manipulate our perception and therefore our (re)actions.
In cases such as these nearly everyone prefers to be lied to in a sincere and convincing manner. We prefer our sociopaths well dressed and spoken; professional and accomplished liars we desperately “elect” to whisper sweet nothings into our ear. Tell me another lie Daddy so I can believe it’s the truth.
As a result, in order to get along with our fellow insane asylum inmates, lies and lying are a fact of life and the only proven way to avoid killing (or being killed by) your neighbor. I only half jest with that last statement.
Ultimately the act of lying is a form of social and interpersonal leverage. Aside from pathological liars, we lie when we believe the truth will not be accepted, possibly blocking us from getting what we want. And what we want can be anything from basic material needs to emotional and psychological comfort.
To be civilized is to keep the lying (among other things) to a minimum, both individually and collectively. Or to be more frank, to use deception effectively enough that our lies are not exposed for what they are. This is why all governments eventually fail. They can no longer hide their lies and corruption from the public, though it’s probably more accurate to say they can no longer shield the public from the consequences of their lies.
Hence my declaration there will be blood, along with many more lies. History illustrates perfectly that as governments become more desperate to hide their lies, they outlaw truth and punish (and kill) truthsayers and various other non conformists aka malcontents.
But this doesn’t mean supporters, sycophants and conformists will not receive their fair share of the misery. The only ones who thrive in an Empire of Lies are those nearest to the Imperial cash register. And quite frankly, neither you nor I have what it takes to swim with the sharks, thus making us little more than tasty live bait.
The only reason many so-called “democratic” nations have lasted as long as they have under the same form of government is by virtue of deception by way of “elections”. We are led to believe those who “run” the government and lead the nation are changed periodically and at our specific direction. Nothing could be further from the truth than this widely believed and promoted myth.
While meaningful leadership change may have once been practiced in America, at this point there is little more than one political party with two opposing factions. Other than a few hot button issues to promote the illusion of choice, both political parties support essentially the same socioeconomic policies that slowly bleed the masses for the benefit of the elite few.
The same wealthy and influential donors show up as financial supporters on both sides of the political aisle. Obviously they expect to be, and certainly are, rewarded for their financial support. The myth is the powerful walk the halls of Congress and the White House. The reality is they are mere finger puppets for the mostly hidden elite. The King serves at the pleasure of his Court. This is as true today as it was in the days of pharaohs, kings and queens.
As systemic corruption spreads and more of the corrupt demand a bigger slice of a constantly shrinking pie, something has to give in the financial equation. This generally means the weak and powerless are shortchanged, which in America accurately describes the overwhelming majority. Sensing the end is near, the majority demand their fair share in the form of more empty promises and outright lies.
Thus we see the rise of politicians promising “change” in the form of “democratic socialism” and other forms of doublespeak nonsense. We believe this silliness because we want to believe this silliness. And we want to believe because we must believe. To do anything other requires a rigorous self assessment and reckoning we are completely unwilling to embrace. Alas, the more we deny the monster, the bigger the monster becomes.
There will be blood.
Hand in hand with the previous thought is the following; the more dependent we are upon a system, the more we will support that system regardless of the damage it does to us or how unfair or unjust it may be to ourselves and/or to others. Never ever underestimate the lengths to which we will go to remain safely within our cocoon of denial when supporting a government that kills and maims others (and soon us) at will.
The tyranny of the majority means we cannot change the direction of the herd unless we are willing to conform to the herd. Once assimilated into the herd, there is no reason to change the herd. And with that simple assessment the Catch 22 (a dilemma or difficult situation from which there is no escape because of mutually conflicting or dependent conditions) trap is complete.
We are our own keepers. Not only do we remain within our cage, but we pull the door shut and throw away the key. It’s the only way to be free, or so we are conditioned to believe.
The only thing you and I can do is look deeply within in order to begin the process of changing ourselves, then take deliberate and concrete steps to distance ourselves mentally, physically and financially from the soon-to-be-stampeding herd.
We must stop deluding ourselves into believing things will be better if only the right person is elected President/Senator/Representative/Supreme Court Justice/Sheriff or dog catcher. There is nothing wrong with hope. But false hope binds us to impossible situations and at this point false hope is the only thing the corrupt system is peddling.
Step One…throw away the TV. Step Two…remove yourself from debt. Step Three…stop eating poison. Step Four…break from the herd both mentally and physically. While all of this is easier said than done, it is not impossible. But it will require significant effort, difficult choices and much personal disruption.
Oh, wait, sorry about that. That’s not how the programming script reads. It will be easy peasy, over before you know it and painless to boot. Now wasn’t that better?
We now return you to your regularly scheduled programming already in progress.
11-26-2018
Cognitive Dissonance
