Contributed by Nan Potts
Let’s face it, deceit has gone on this planet since it began.
It can be observed in both the plant and animal kingdoms. For example, you recall your high school freshman biology classes where you learned how plants and animals disguise themselves to look like dangerous organisms, so predators won’t eat them? Or, how predators deceive their prey by giving off an enticing odor or mimic a call to lure their dinners to them?
Well, it seems the human race excels in perfecting deceit. And, applies it quite liberally!
So, let’s clarify some definitions so we’re clear in their meanings for this discussion:
Deceit - noun, the act or practice of deceiving; concealment or distortion of the truth for the purpose of misleading; duplicity; fraud; cheating.
Deception - noun, something that deceives or is intended to deceive; fraud; artifice.
Liberal - adjective, (often initial capital letter) noting or pertaining to a political party advocating measures of progressive political reform.
Liberal - noun, a person of liberal principles or views, especially in politics or religion.
Liberal - adjective, given freely or abundantly; generous. - (www.dictionary.com)
Deceit can be observed to serve to protect and assist a species to survive or to avoid harming an individual, physically or emotionally. Societies allow certain types of deceit in order to perpetuate a myth or fantasy to excite, motivate and entertain children, i.e. Santa Clause, the Easter Bunny, the Tooth Fairy and others. But many of these characters and traditions turn out to have a historical origin or intent - to tell a story and achieve a goal.
Other types of deceit are designed to diminish some in order to empower others.
Have you ever had someone relate an incident where they, either intentionally or unintentionally, left out some important information? It probably led to an egregious misunderstanding or fight.
Have you ever experienced hearing or reading a news headline, only to discover the headline had nothing to do with the story? Yet because the headline hooked people’s attention, it continued to be promoted as truth?
Ever heard or read an OPED (Opinion/Editorial) piece where several days later the writer did a complete reversal without fully substantiating his/her reasoning?
Frustrating, isn’t it?
Of course, we all make mistakes. Hopefully, we decide to take responsibility for them and “‘fess-up”, making amends when necessary.
Lately in the world, we have been exposed to many, if not all, of these types of deceits:
• Omitted information - misleading
• False information (unintentional) - mistakes
• False information, altered truth (intentional) - lies
• Using false information repeatedly to forward an agenda - altered truth
• Redirecting information in order to confuse - flip-flopping
• Blaming others - a distraction from themselves
• Excuses - distraction
If you step back and look to understand history, you’ll see every time there was a major conflict there was deception. Especially, in the beginning. I’ll not conduct a history lesson here, that’s up to you. But consider these Historical events:
The Event The Deception(s) The Political Goal(s)
The American Revolution The colonists were British subjects under British law. Take away their rights
American Civil War The South had the right to self-govern/economics/etc. Abolishment of slavery
The Russian Revolution Bolsheviks promised protection of people from rulers. Seize State power
World War I The War to End All Wars (Mutual Defense Alliance) Slovaks, part of Serbia
Nazi Germany Germany was victim of Allied and Jewish aggression. Hitler’s rise to power
World War II (Europe) Invasion of Poland, propagated lies of Allies and Jews World domination
World War II (Pacific) Surprise attack on Pearl Harbor Control of Asian oil
Chinese Revolution CCP and Nationalists join to fight against Japan, WWII CCP to control China
Venezuela Spent oil money for major social programs, help the poor. State control
I won’t deceive you… There was much more occurring than these deceptions for event to unfold. These are just a few examples of how deceit was used to achieve a goal. Usually, the power to control, due to fear of those not controlled.
When information is narrowly focused, people can be duped into erroneous trains of thought (from omitted information or false information) resulting in inaccurate conclusions. People have a tendency to latch on to false ideas so deeply, when the truth is revealed they either deny it and take it to their grave or will attempt to hide from it because it’s too overwhelming. Eventually, it catches up to them and they succumb (i.e. The fall of Nazi Germany).
Currently many of our media outlets are vomiting false and omitted information. It makes one wonder, what is the truth? What are sources of reliable information? When you do research, using reliable sources other than popular media outlets, you may be surprised how common this is and how hard it is to get the actual story. This is art of deceit - to verification impossible, so you give up trying.
Take our current political environment with its turmoil:
· ANTIFA
· Black Lives Matter
· Socialism
· Defund the Police
· Critical Race Theory
· WOKE-ism
· Racism
Is there any deceit within these ideologies? What do you think are their goals?
Closer to home for me, a friend duped me into getting vaccinated for COVID. My friend kindly put together a group adventure trip and requested a private tour at a local company. This was a special opportunity. The coordination emails repeated, “You must be vaccinated to ride the bus [for the tour].” Later, I discovered it was NOT mandatory for the tour. My friend felt compelled to have everyone one on our tour vaccinated, “to protect our guide”, although our guide was already vaccinated. The Deception: liberals and liberal thinkers appear to have the best interests of others in mind. The Goal: to control or manipulate others in order to feel safe.
I’m not opposed to vaccines, but I do like to do due-diligence on health care issues. There has been very little data on all three vaccines. If you read your post-vaccination paperwork, it will say, “The Janssen COVID-19 Vaccine has not undergone the same type of review as an FDA-approved or cleared product.” It also states, “The Janssen COVID-19 Vaccine is an unapproved vaccine… In an ongoing clinical trial, it [J, COVID-19] has been shown to prevent COVID-19 following a single dose.” The duration of protection is unknown. Plus, there are risks. Note, these are for all COVID vaccines. Even the CDC admits all the vaccinations are currently in the largest clinical trial — the World.
While deceit and deception will continue to plague this planet, it is up to us to be able to differentiate between truth and falsehoods. Being willing to spend time investigating and educating ourselves regarding issues, whether past or present, and logically evaluating the information. Conclusions may differ. Yet, the truth should lay within the commonality of each. Logic eventually wins over irrational fear, even though along the way may lie the bodies from collateral damage. Logic — noun, the science that investigates the principles governing correct or reliable inference (www.dictionary.com).
We humans are fallible. History has proven it. Fallible — adjective, (of persons) liable to err, especially in being deceived or mistaken (www.dictionary.com).
Deceit and deception are recognized…
“The trouble with our liberal friends is not that they’re ignorant; it’s just that they know so much that isn’t so.” - Ronald Regan
“Intellectuals may like to think of themselves as people who "speak truth to power" but too often they are people who speak lies to gain power.” - Thomas Sowell
“One of the saddest lessons of history is this: If we’ve been bamboozled long enough, we tend to reject any evidence of the bamboozle. We’re no longer interested in finding out the truth. The bamboozle has captured us. It’s simply too painful to acknowledge, even to ourselves, that we’ve been taken. Once you give a charlatan power over you, you almost never get it back.” - Carl Sagan
“If you tell a big enough lie and tell it frequently enough, it will be believed.” - Adolf Hitler
“Liars are the cause of all the sins and crimes in the world.” - Epictetus
“The ultimate weakness of violence is that it is a descending spiral, begetting the very thing it seeks to destroy. Instead of diminishing evil, it multiplies it. Through violence you may murder the liar, but you cannot murder the lie, nor establish the truth. Through violence you may murder the hater, but you do not murder hate. In fact, violence merely increases hate... Darkness cannot drive out darkness: only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate: only love can do that.” - Martin Luther King Jr.
…But it continues, liberally. You may disagree with me - but then, you may actually be deceived!