media

PANTS ON FIRE: the truth about truthfulness

Since our fearless leader arrived on the scene, there has been much debate over the matter of truthfulness. Though the word truth may not be as fashionable as it once was, it is still used a great deal in everyday language. I have my own ideas about the definition of the word, but etymologists tell us language is in a constant state of flux. With that in mind I decided to look up the definition of the word to see if its meaning had changed during the past 80 or so years. It seemed to not have changed appreciatively since the day a few decades ago when I lied about throwing a hatchet at my brother.
The definitions of the word “truth” I found confusing in most cases; for example, one was “the quality or state of being true,”  which I did not find to be helpful. It reminded me of the meaningless cliche “it is what it is.” However, I was pleased to learn that some of the synonyms used george-washington-cherry-treefor truth, such as candor, honesty, and sincerity, are still associated with the word. Along with a few million other kids I was indoctrinated with the fable of George Washington and the cherry tree. The moral of that story was very clear that lying about the deed was as bad or worse that the deed itself. To that end when my father confronted me about a misdeed, and said “don’t lie to me” I soon learned that I was more likely to escape corporal punishment if I confessed.

 

Truthfulness in the “good ole days”

According to my recollection, truthfulness was highly regarded in those days; although there were situations in which lying was condoned. For example, horse traders, much as the used car salesmen of today, were famously expected to lie. In those days I am told that transactions involving horses were seen as a competition testing the ability of the buyer or trader to judge horses, and the rules about truthfulness were suspended. In most situations however; truthfulness was considered a virtue and liars were regarded as on the same level as wife beaters.
My indoctrination into those ideas about truth was successful, and I value them even today, although I must confess that I have transgressed a few times. In most cases I have rationalized by telling myself they are only white lies, minor exaggerations, or embellishments, and that there are times when truth can be hurtful. As a consequence, I tend to classify lies as to their size in order to excuse my behavior. However, according to the Smith classification, any prevarication uttered by the most powerful man in the world is a whopper with the potential of dire consequences for the entire world.

I Don’t Care if Trump Lies

With all that in mind, you can imagine my chagrin when I ran across an article in the January 23 issue of “The Daily Wire” titled 5 REASONS I DON’T CARE IF TRUMP LIES. It was written by John Nolte who had previously been editor of the far right web based Breitbart News which was also the former home of Steve Bannon, Mr. Trump’s advisor. Mr. Nolte justifies the lying by using “the old everybody does it” strategy we used in grade school by saying: “Politicians lie. That is what they do.” He goes on to say “In politics lying is a tactic, and if you don’t use that tactic, you’re screwed.” 19c05de8e57fda9170ee3a1e7a95e269How many times in history have we heard that. If indeed the most talented at lying have an advantage at the polls, it might explain why there appears to be so much dissatisfaction about the performance of our elected officials. Nolte is not so charitable with the major news outlets that he describes as “evil” due to their dishonesty, but assures us that “I will not lie.” Yes, I am sure George Washington would be pleased to know someone is following in his footsteps.

Fake News. Confirmation Bias. The Internet Conundrum.

4e6661deeb79365cf2ad34752f12c3f7The term “fake news” has been bandied about a lot lately, but that seems to me an oxymoron. If it is fake, it is simply a lie, certainly not news. No matter what it is called, the internet has become a fertile field for its growth. It allows any individual to send whatever lie he chooses with impunity to large numbers of people who are then capable of spreading it to others like an epidemic. The more outrageous or unusual the story, the more likely it is to be widely dispersed. The volume of such misinformation is such that there is something for everybody so that a person is more likely to believe something if it supports his own beliefs or prejudices, and discard that with which he disagrees. This has been called the confirmation bias.
As he continues to surf the web, he will be drawn to those sites, truthful or not, which confirm his beliefs. So armed, he becomes even more entrenched in his opinions and more unlikely to listen to alternative ideas. In my opinion this is one of the major contributors to our divisiveness. Unfortunately his conclusions may have been influenced by faulty evidence.

In an optimistic essay in the December 29, 2011 issue of the Atlantic, by Rebecca Rosen titled TRUTH, LIES and the INTERNET, she acknowledges that the internet is a repository for much misinformation, but comforts us by insisting “the internet has brought a golden age of Fact Checking,” and goes on to say “…..the good news is that the Internet is nurturing accuracy.”

So much for prophecies: here we are six years later with the development of wonderfully complex lie machines, which are not only capable of reaching millions of people, but can actually tailor their lies to appeal to certain groups or even individuals. In the face of such onslaughts, all the fact checkers in the world could not keep up with their output.
Not only has the internet provided a convenient platform for the delivery of lies, new techniques such as the twitterbot are now used to overwhelm and prevent access by competing messages.

In contrast to the Atlantic article, Richard Clarke’s book, Cyber Warfare has turned out to be prophetic. He had warned in his book that the US was sorely lacking in preparedness for cyberattacks. Russia has proven him correct in his assessment by their role in attempting to undermine our electoral process. I have heard several comments on TV which attempt to assure us that the outcome of the election was not affected by these cyberattacks; however I find it hard to believe that anyone could be certain of that since there are so many intangibles which may affect such outcomes.

Whatever the effects they may have had on the outcome of the election, the specter of even the possibility of an illegitimate presidency or treasonous staff members is a win for the Russians due to the loss of confidence in the process. Slanderous comments about various politicians are accepted as fact by some which further undermines the trust in our system. Attitudes so developed may also result in a cynicism about our government which may discourage our brightest and most dedicated from a career in public service.

Facts. The truth. The whole truth. And nothing but the truth.

When testifying in a court of law all people must swear to tell “the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth”. This oath is said to have been traced to the 13th century. Those guys must have been pretty smart, for they already were aware of how one could make a lie appear to be the truth. Unfortunately, counterfeit truth tellers are not required to take such an oath in ordinary situations. They can avoid telling the “whole” truth by taking something out of context, usually a word or modifying phrase that changes the meaning of what is said. The “nothing but the truth” phrase forbids the mixing in a lie or two which can also change the gist of the message. Such strategies seem to me to be used more frequently now than in days past.

190583Beliefs and opinions are not facts. Facts are a necessary component of truth; however truth is more than that. Truth requires an understanding of the meaning of the facts, their relevance to the issue at hand, and their context. Truth is necessary for our survival. Truth is essential for development of trust. Without trust, chaos reigns and society disintegrates. Truth is honest, sincere, and respectful. Truth is especially important in today’s messy world, but currently seems to be in short supply.
Since I began this essay, I noted that Time Magazine featured a lead article on truthfulness. Although I was initially dismayed to have been scooped, I was nevertheless heartened that the issue is getting the attention it deserves. Of course lying is not a recent development.  It has been said that THE TRUTH WILL SET YOU FREE which leads one to ponder the question of the effect of its absence.   Plato addressed its seriousness a bit before my tenure when he said:
“FALSE WORDS ARE NOT ONLY EVIL IN THEMSELVES, BUT THEY INFECT THE SOUL WITH EVIL.

Where’s Walter Cronkite When You Need Him? The media’s inability to multi-task (among other things)

The Curmudgeon’s Corner

The Media + Robin Williams
August 17, 2014

                It would take longer than the time I have left on this earth to discuss all the complaints I have with our current news media; however last week’s performance exemplifies many of them.  I spent much of my time this last week being dumbed down by CNN.  You might ask ‘why didn’t you simply turn the channel?” and my answer is: if I had not watched it I wouldn’t be able to complain, besides where else is a news junkie to go? MSNBC and FOX news function as political propaganda machines rather than as news organizations.  I had some hope for Aljazera USA, but was told by Time-Warner that I must buy a separate cable box in order to get it on the kitchen TV where I prefer to get my morning news.  I suppose it is a coincidence that Time-Warner is the parent company of CNN.

Perhaps you have noticed that CNN only does one story per week; although that story is repeated continuously until something juicier comes along.  Each retelling is presented with great fanfare as “breaking news”.  Occasionally, they might break in to mention some trivial world events such as the numerous wars raging throughout the world, or the plight of the millions of refugees throughout the world facing starvation, genocide or slaughter.  I sense they would prefer to focus on domestic stories for it must be cheaper to use reporters from affiliates than to hire independent foreign correspondents, which the closing of most of their news gathering facilities throughout the world necessitates.

The story to which I am referring mercifully ended in less than a week as it was recently replaced by the shooting in Missouri, which remains at the top of the charts.  This morning there was breaking news that the Governor was planning to visit Ferguson again.  How exciting!  As you may have guessed the suicide of Robin Williams was the story of the previous week.  I have always been a fan of Robin Williams and thought he and Johnathon Winters were the two funniest men in the world.  My wife commented the other day that Robin had “kind eyes”, and watching the clips on TV, I had to agree.  I was also impressed that his humor was not at the expense of others. There is no question that this man was a comedic genius in addition to being an exceptional actor.

Prior to my bitter old man days, I was a psychiatrist and as such have always had an interest in what makes people tick.  I have found the genius thing to be especially interesting.  For example, how is it that the brains of so called savants can perform unbelievable acts of genius when in all other areas  they are so limited? In my younger days I had also done some research into attempting to learn more about suicidal behaviors.  With these sorts of questions in mind, I found myself listening to a parade of so called experts discussing Robin’s life and tragic death.  Physicians generally spend a lot of time attending lectures by various experts; consequently I have had a lot of experience in this area.  I have even pretended to be an expert myself on occasion.  Somewhere along the line some medical truth teller defined an expert as “someone more than fifty miles from home with slides.” I felt a CNN mental health expert could be characterized as “a smooth talker with an agent.”

With the exception of Dr. Oz (really smooth) who did give a short but accurate monologue about depression, I felt the experts sounded like amateurs.  I feel  sure  that it would take any first year trainee in psychiatry about 15 minutes to diagnose Mr. Williams.  His history of depression, and substance abuse, quick, nay lightning fast wit, periods of impaired judgment, racing thoughts, and family history  were absolutely diagnostic of Bipolar I disorder.   Bipolar disorder frequently gets bad press, and I felt this would be a wonderful opportunity to dispel some of the myths about the disease.   Many historians now think that many of our most creative people have been afflicted in some form.   Robin Williams certainly was in that group.

Arthur Miller, the playwright once said that he had not been able to write anything worthwhile since he started on lithium (a mood stabilizer) but he felt wonderful. This is the man who wrote Death of a Salesman in one day. Yes, bipolar patients can be incredibly productive until they  run out of gas and fall into a pit of intolerable hopelessness, and despair.  I don’t believe any of us who have not experienced that pain can truly understand suicide.

Robin Williams paid a big price for his genius, and I can’t help but wonder if in the past I may have stifled some potential genius’s creativity by treating his Bipolar disease.  Yeah, unintended consequences can be a bitch, but I wager that Robin would have gladly traded fame and fortune for euthymia.