The Power of Lies

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“A lie can travel halfway around the world before the truth can get its boots on.” Supposedly Twain said this, or maybe it was Churchill, or perhaps neither. Maybe it’s simply a truism passed down in various forms since who knows when. The Quote Investigator notes that, before Twain or Churchill were even born, Jonathan Swift is known to have said in 1710 that “falsehood flies, and the Truth comes limping after it.” Yes, lies seem to have a certain power all their own.


A truth meter

Our POTUS and his supporters have harnessed this very human reality to great effect. No amount of fact-checking, countervailing arguments, outraged responses, shame, or, um…, truth seems to make any difference. Lies work. Lies sway opinion. Lies help their unethical, unscrupulous, and immoral purveyors to gain and maintain power.

Keep in mind, though, that the real power of lies resides in the frequency with which they are told. A single lie might not be so difficult to rebut. Multiple lies, however, told day in and day out, require more people and more energy to rebut than any entity can sustain. And if those falsehoods happen to be big lies, conspiracies, and propaganda—repeated by individuals with large bullhorns—then the situation is even more difficult.

With an overwhelming number of lies, or with one big, “beautiful” lie for that matter, the truth ceases to be of primary importance, or any importance at all. Belief is what becomes most important. Argumentation for this side or that side becomes just so much noise. We either believe the lie or not. We’re either in the tribe that feels this way, or we’re in the tribe that feels that way. End of story.

We’re in a dangerous place in our country these days. We’re navigating a realm in which truth seems to no longer matter. Unfortunately, tribes have no need for objective truth when deciding whether to wage war with each other; their own “truth” provides all the justification that is required.

So, what shall we do? We can live in silos, refraining from associating with those of who don’t share our tribal truth. Yes, I’m guilty of this to some extent. We can also abide by the old adage that we should simply refrain from discussing religion and politics. Yes, I do this as well. But neither of these strategies helps to tear down the wall that’s been built up between the tribes.

Something that does keep me from descending into the throes of hatred is to remain curious about this phenomenon. For instance, why do seemingly sane and intelligent people subscribe to conspiracy theories? How is it that we fall prey to cult-like thinking? Where does this pervasive lack of empathy come from? Remaining curious provides enough “clinical distance” that my emotions remain in check, for the most part.

It also helps me to realize that ignorance rather than evil lies at the heart of most of our problems, even those fomented by liars. We’re all ignorant to varying degrees. I find it easier to forgive someone’s ignorance than to forgive their evil actions. Keeping this in mind also helps keep me away from the slippery slope towards hatred.

Finally, I find it of benefit to realize that, even if truth continues to elude someone, the reality of their votes and who they support will eventually come back to educate them. They or someone they know will lose healthcare, food stamps, education support, etc. They or someone they know will get caught up in an ICE raid or become targeted for who they are. They or someone they know will lose their job to a government cut. They or someone they know will face a natural disaster and find no government assistance forthcoming. They or someone they know might be diagnosed with a disease that might have been treatable had research funding not been cut. And when that eventuality arrives, the truth that they experience will do more to change their mind than even the most articulate of arguments. In the meantime, let’s do our best to be of assistance to those suffering needlessly.


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This post is in the Power, Practice, and Peace series.

Find a running list of all posts in this series by clicking here


Images


Truth Meter by Lbeaumont via:

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Truth_meter.jpg 


Copyright 2025 by Mark Robert Frank

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