Truth or Dare

Being intelligent is defined as “showing an ability to think clearly and logically.”   Being ignorant is defined as “being unaware of something.”  Being duplicitous is defined as “behaving dishonestly in order to trick someone”.  So can someone be intelligent, ignorant and duplicitous at the same time?  Here’s a free clue.  An intelligent person can be ignorant of the facts and just sound duplicitous.  For instance, a person may just not know enough about what they’re talking about and still offer opinions that sound intelligent.  On the other hand, this person might know better and still offer opinions that sound intelligent but are designed to mislead. 

As usual I’m talking about politicians.  One of my daily habits is to read as much political news as I can stand.  It’s a great place to see examples of people who are intelligent and ignorant at the same time.  Sometimes they’re just ignorant.  These are the folks who cover up their ignorance by attacking another person’s character.  (We’ll be seeing a lot more of that, now that the 2012 campaign has started) But if we ignore them, we find many people who are obviously intelligent and equally obviously ignorant of the facts.  These are not the folks I’m talking about.  I’m talking about the folks who know what they’re talking about and make claims that sound intelligent and are designed to trick us into believing that something is terribly wrong. 

Unfortunately, we live in a time when duplicitous comments not only go unchallenged but get headline coverage.  These are statements being made by supposedly intelligent people.  There are only three reasons I can think of for an intelligent person to make these kinds of statements: 1) They are not intelligent.  2) They are acting duplicitously to get votes.  2) They are simply ignorant on the topic.  In any case, why would we want them in office? 

The goal of these people is to create an illusion of a reality that doesn’t exist.  And then tell us that they will fix it all.  Want an example? Let’s start with the accusation this president is just a talker and has accomplished nothing in his three years in office. 

“How about a big stimulus bill, a landmark healthcare reform bill, student loan reform, an end to the Bush torture regime, the Lily Ledbetter Fair Pay Act, a hate crimes bill, a successful rescue of the American car industry, resuscitation of the NLRB, passage of New START, the death of Osama bin Laden, withdrawal from Iraq, a decent start on rationalizing Pentagon procurement, repeal of DADT, credit card reforms, unprecedented gas mileage standards, a second stimulus in 2010, and passage of financial reform legislation?”

Please don’t misinterpret my intentions. This is not an ideological rant for or against any of the above accomplishments. This is about comparing facts to the claims made by people who want his job.  

Granted, you might disagree with what he has done. I’m just pointing out that the accusations that fill the airwaves are designed to create an illusion.

Why would politicians who are supposedly interested in the health of the country make statements that are so patently wrong?  Could it possibly be that they want to create an illusion that everything is broken?  Could it be that if we believe in that illusion, we’ll believe their claims to fix it all?  Look at the accomplishments again.  Do they reflect a reality where this president is doing nothing? 

Vote for whomever you prefer; keep the incumbents or bring in a whole new gang. But make your decisions after you investigate the facts. Don’t fall for  claims made for the obvious purpose of demeaning political opponents and creating fear. Step out of the amplified resonance of echo chambers.   Our grandchildren are depending on us.      

Robert DeFilippis