True lies --- and liars

[Valin]

Jewish World Review:

Victor Davis Hanson

Feb. 12, 2015

 

(Snip)

 

Why do so many of our elites cut corners and embellish their past or steal the work of others?

 

For them, such deception may be a small gamble worth taking, with mild consequences if caught. Plagiarism is a shortcut to publishing without all the work of creating new ideas or doing laborious research. Padding a resume or mixing truth with half-truths and composites creates more dramatic personal histories that enhance careers.

 

Our culture itself has redefined the truth into a relative idea without fault. Some academics suggested that Brian Williams may have lied because of "memory distortion" rather than a character defect.

 

Contemporary postmodern thought sees the "truth" as a construct. The social aim of these fantasy narratives is what counts. If they serve progressive race, class and gender issues, then why follow the quaint rules of evidence that were established by an ossified and reactionary establishment?

(Snip)

 

The Greek word for truth was "aletheia" -- literally "not forgetting." Yet that ancient idea of eternal differences between truth and myth is now lost in the modern age.

 

Our lies become accepted as true, but only depending on how powerful and influential we are -- or how supposedly noble the cause for which we lie.

 

[Cyber_Liberty]

 

Our lies become accepted as true, but only depending on how powerful and influential we are -- or how supposedly noble the cause for which we lie.