The Truth and Nothing But the Truth
By Marilyn Snyder
Published in the Redlands Daily Facts, December 5, 2013
Are there times when you wish everyone had a Pinocchio nose to help smell out skillful liars?
As the mother of two, foster mom to five teenage girls, a high school teacher, and a former kid, I have a lot of experience with fibbing, falsifying, misleading, misspeaking, prevaricating and plain old lying.
Think of the “Oops, I got caught” liars like one of my foster daughters who, in the middle of the night, took my car for a joy ride.
What she didn’t know was that my husband always kept track of the mileage. Oops — her story didn’t pass the odometer test.
No question that everyone fibs, even if they are only little white social lies. “I’m fine,” when you feel terrible. “I’m busy,” when you just don’t want to do something.
When one friend tells a whopper that results in a ruined reputation, the friendship may be destroyed.
When a husband lies to his wife, or vice versa, about their finances, and it results in bankruptcy, the marriage may never recover.
Suppose a teacher said to her class, “I am very angry at the person responsible for the recent deluge of spitwads. I’m going to find out who did it and they will be severely punished.” She changes the subject to the upcoming football game against their big rival. Then they go back to the day’s lessons. The spitwads continue. But for the rest of the school year, the topic is ignored. The perpetrator is never caught or punished.
Did she lie?
Most of us accept that there are groups of people who have a well-deserved reputation for maintaining their distance from the truth.
Judge Judy frequently asks, “How do you know when a teenager is lying? Her answer: “When their lips are moving.”
Some maintain that the same could be said about politicians.
Consider the 2010 IRS targeting of about 300 tea party and conservative groups that applied for tax-exempt status. President Obama said that targeting was “outrageous”and that his administration would punish the wrongdoers.
Was that a lie?
According to USA Today, fewer than half of the targeted groups have had their cases resolved.
Why wasn’t someone punished or fired for the invasive questioning?
Rack your brain. Can you think of a time in our history when a major government leader flat out lied to the American people with devastating results for millions of us?
In my informal survey, President George Bush the 43rd was mentioned because he said, “Read my lips. No new taxes.”
Was that a lie or a broken promise?
Another mentioned Bill Clinton when he looked straight into the TV cameras and denied his carnal activities with an intern. Months later he admitted it had happened. Definitely a lie.
According to L. Z. Granderson, CNN commentator and Obama defender, “Americans have said that they can live with the lies President Obama tells us because we believe in his heart he has the best interests of the people.”
Obama even admitted lying to us about “if you like your plan, if you like your doctor, you can keep them.”
This was not the first time he “misspoke.”
He said the Benghazi violence was caused by a video and denied that the National Security Agency collected our phone and email conversations.
But if the American people can’t trust their president to tell the truth when it comes to promoting and passing health care legislation that affects one-sixth of the economy, when can we trust him?
A recent AP poll asked respondents if they trust the federal government to do what’s right.
Eighty-one percent of respondents believe that their elected officials will do the right thing only some of the time.
Given the IRS persecution of conservatives and the 5 million canceled insurance policies due to Obamacare, that’s a lot of falsifying and misleading.
We condemn the Pinocchio results of the Obama administration prevarication.
It’s time for Americans to demand the truth and nothing but the truth from every government official, starting with the President Obama. To hold the toes of those who falsify to the fire. To stand up for what is right and just and true.
That’s the kind of America we can all believe in.