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As a child growing up in Texas, I heard the phrase, "Truth, Justice, and the American Way" used a great deal. It became the creed on which I believed our country was founded. I was taught by my parents, teachers, and other influences, which help mold my development, that Americans were by and large truthful, fair-minded, honest, and aboveboard. I carried this belief into my early adult years. It is an opinion, I am sad to say, which I no longer hold.

George Bush is, by all evidence, a devious and dishonest man, and it would be easy to say the downfall of truth in this country is entirely his fault. While it is true that Bush has greatly damaged the credibility and reputation of this nation with his deceit and lies, the problem of truth in this country started long before the Supreme Court appointed him to the office of president.

Corporations lie about their products, their bottom line, their intentions, and anything else, which they believe will put money into their individual and corporate pockets. Enron and World-com are the two biggest examples, but truth in the business community has been eroding for decades. I have worked for companies that lied to their employees ("Oh no, we'll never close that office or division,") their stockholders ("Not to worry, our company has never been in better financial shape,") and their clients ("Yes our products will do all the things you want, and more."). Not all corporations are dishonest to be sure, but to generate more profits by any means, many have lost their soul. Salespeople, as I know from first hand experience, often must choose between lying and keeping their jobs. Lying by attorneys has been made into an art form. Some younger people now accept the telling of lies as a useful tool of life, and it's little wonder they do. Unlike when I was growing up, they see it around them every day, and they see that to many adults it is totally acceptable.

Bill Clinton lied about having an affair. I think he did a wonderful job as president, but a less than stellar job for himself and his family. Still, he was almost forced out of office for his transgressions, while our current president lied about the cause for war, has been responsible for the needless deaths of thousands of U.S. service men (and tens of thousands of injuries), as well as the deaths of over one hundred thousand citizens of Iraq. He claims we are fighting terrorism in Iraq, when clearly we are creating more terrorism by our presence. He doesn't want to admit his mistakes and is lying to the American public (and the world) on a daily basis. He painted himself and our country into a corner and now lying seems to be his only way of dealing with the problem.

Past presidents from Dwight Eisenhower ("We have no spy planes over Russia,") to now, with the possible exception of Jimmy Carter, have lied, as have congressmen, mayors and state and local officials.

Job applicants lie on their resumes, boy friends lie to their girl friends, husbands lie to their wives (and visa versa), children lie to parents, and parents to their children. In sports, the creed isn't don't cheat, but instead, it's don't get caught. It's doctor the bat or ball in baseball, and hold an opponent in football, but don't get caught. Millions fudge on their taxes. New hi tech methods are now in use, which allow students to cheat on tests in all levels of education. Cheating is simply another form of lying.

It's a sad fact that we have become a nation of liars. Strong language to be sure, but true never the less.

If you have read this far expecting me to offer a miracle cure for this national malady, I'm sorry to disappoint you, but I have none.

I do know this, however. Like an alcoholic who must first admit that he or she is an alcoholic, we must first acknowledge the problem before anything can be done to correct it. Unfortunately we cannot look at our nation's religious leaders for help, as too many of them have lied big time about extra marital affairs, gay relationships, suspect finances and the handling of money. Far from being the solution to the lying epidemic, our religious leaders are part of the problem. Some continue to lie even after being exposed. Ted Haggard said he was cured of his gay tendencies after attending three weeks of religious counseling. Yeah….right, Ted! Jerry Falwell sold tapes claiming that Bill Clinton was guilty of planning the murder of one of his associates (Vince Foster) when all evidence clearly proved the unfortunate Mr. Foster had committed suicide. Falwell knew better, but lied anyway in an attempt to discredit Clinton. Clinton did cheat on his wife, but to call him a murderer was strictly a bald faced lie in an attempt to further the cause of ultra conservatism. Some religious leaders also knowingly lie when they say creationism was the way mankind came to be and evolution is not true, even though multitudes of scientific evidence shows us just the opposite. I'm sure that some know creationism is not true, or that the Earth is not merely a few thousand years old, but to admit that evolution is real would be counter productive to the biblical story as to the way mankind was formed. There is nothing wrong with the story of Adam & Eve, of course, but it should be looked upon as a metaphor, and not as a true depiction of man's origin

We can be vaccinated for a number of diseases. Other diseases, when detected, have a proven regimen of treatment and cure. Some diseases that were fatal in the past can now be handled and controlled or cured with relative ease. Oh, if only that were true for lying.

That said, I'm not saying lying is a disease, as it is not. It is a learned response. It is learned by first observing and then by doing. It's a short cut to a reward, and ethics be damned.

In closing, I will share a personal experience about lying (or not). Years ago, I was the new, young Materials Manager for a large hospital in San Francisco. I was in charge of the department that purchased all the supplies (medical and otherwise) for the hospital. On the advice of the Head Dietician (also new to the hospital), I purchased a new china pattern for the hospital to replace aging china, which was used for board meetings, doctor's conferences, etc. It turns out that, not knowing the political climate of the hospital, I inadvertently purchased the china from a company other than one owned by a hospital board member. All past china purchases had been done through his company. Along with the Head Dietician, I was called to the office of a furious hospital administrator who read us the riot act and then concluded by saying, "Someone could lose their job over this." I responded by saying to him, "Then you had better fire me, because I made the purchase and I signed the purchase order." He look at me for a moment before saying, "I can't fire a man who takes responsibility for his actions like that. I'll take care of the board member. Just don't let it happen again." Telling the truth is something I learned from my parents as a child and on that day it saved my job because I was standing before a man who, while angry, also valued the truth. It was a lesson well learned and one which I never forgot. I can only hope that more people in this country will find a way to learn that same lesson in their own way, because if we are to reduce the amount of lies told daily in this country, we will do it one person at a time.

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©2007, 2008 by Ken Kreps This article may not be re-published in electronic or print media without the express written permission of the author. All rights reserved. However, links to this website may be included on any website without the permission of the author.

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