What's Wrong With This Statement?

Part of "Life Lessons101" -- right up there with the most-basic rules for survival -- is to tell the truth.

We lived in fear of developing a nose like Pinocchio, our pants catching on fire or being confined to our rooms like poor Beaver Cleaver or Bud Anderson, followed by those disappointing looks exchanged between mom and dad.

Parents, educators, Sunday School teachers, camp counselors, pop songs, books, our older siblings, clerks in stores, the police... Everywhere we turned, the message was to tell the truth.

That's one thing that hasn't changed over the generations. From Mark Twain to Sesame Street, Shakespeare to Golden Books, the Bible to reality shows about people getting caught in lies about lying, no one could have missed the message.

And, then there's politics (and business, but that's another subject). It's very disheartening to actually hear people lying to us. It doesn't matter which party or which candidate, there are just too many untruths being thrown at us everyday.

Whether they're called "talking points," or messages from the "bully pulpit," no matter if your radio or television network of choice is on the left, right or right down the center, how far we've gone off track really hit home when I read a quote in the Los Angeles Times this week:

"I think it is very hard because [Democrats] don't have the message machine the Republicans do," said George Lakoff, a UC Berkeley linguistics professor who has advised some Democrats on how to sharpen their message. "The Democrats still believe in Enlightenment reason: If you just tell people the truth, they will come to the right conclusion."

My concern is not who's a Republican or who's a Democrat, or what they think about legislation about health care. My vote is for a return to Dr. Lakoff's "enlightenment reason." I like the idea that, "If you just tell people the truth, they will come to the right conclusion."

And that's the truth.

Follow Candy Spelling on Twitter: www.twitter.com/cscandyland

Comments

[prtynessy]

I agree that the people should just be told the truth - all of those messages and talking points are just a bunch of smoke and mirrors that make the voters become confused. They then lose sight of the actual policy or what they should be voting for.

[jeff01]

I'm going to show this to my sons. They need to know.

[kaseybandit]

I vote for enlightenment. Please!

[audadvnc]

Lies are a form of black magic, bending reality to conform to the perpetrator's will. But as with any other black magic, it eventually fails. The truth will out ...

[Astute1]

But what is the truth? Who knows the truth? How can you prove its true?

[Chip1222]

I don't think death panels are the truth.

[Chip1222]

It's a sad state of affairs. I wondered why the Democrats weren't getting through. Now I know. They're trying to tell the truth.

[ThreeCentsWorth]

Pinocchio Palin. Seems more apt than Sarah at this point.