Quote:
Originally Posted by PaulS
Put your critical thinking cap on.
And tell us again how his lies are not a big deal.
Posted from my iPhone/Mobile device
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"Put your critical thinking cap on."
Harry Reid didn't regret or apologize about saying that Romney didn't pay taxes for 10 years. When he was asked about his lie, his reply was "Romney didn't win, did he?"
So put
your critical thinking cap on. C'mon now. Think. Why do politicians lie? Would Hillary's lies have been a big deal to you if she had won?
Maybe you don't think her lies were all that bad. I don't think that Trump's lies are all that bad. Most of them were not actually lies. Mostly exaggerations, sarcasms, mistakes, or outright distortions of what he actually said . . . Hillary didn't win, did she?
What goes around, comes around. Always been that way.
It's very difficult to be totally honest to the American people about political reality. Probably because "political reality" has become an oxymoron.
To begin with, there must be a defined, if not an absolute, framework of government with a defined process of governing in order for there to be a semblance of a coherent political reality. The abandonment of the political framework on which this country was founded was begun long ago and has been gradually eroded ever since.
And before that framework, there must be a reason to create it and its process for governing. There must be an idea, a principle that motivates the creation of the framework. The principles of our founding have also been gradually distorted and lied about. We are at a point where most of our people don't even know what they or the framework are. There are many who believe they should be forgotten, discarded. There are many who feel we should restore them.
What is the political reality in that mix of opposing views?
If we don't have a common definition of what it means to make the government work well, what must politicians say to us in order to get elected? Must they tell us what they think most want to hear? And how do that "most" arrive at thinking what they want to hear?
Being totally honest will turn off half or more of our morally, ideologically, and politically divided people. Trump has long been in the business of understanding and persuading people. He learned how to schmooz, fib, tell white lies, and some biggies, better than Hillary. Also better than Romney or McCain.
Hillary didn't win, did she? What else do you need to know?
That's how its been done for a long, long time. As smart as Romney is, he didn't understand something as simple as that. As dumb as Harry Reid usually appears to be, he did understand that. Hillary understood it, but didn't have the personal goods, the charisma, the ability to connect with enough diverse people, to pull it off.
Is that a good thing? You and I would probably agree that it's not so good. That it should be better. That it should be much, much more honest. My solution is to connect the vast majority of us under common principles. The most basic principles which can connect diverse and even opposing beliefs. And to devise a framework of government to support that connection. And to teach and instill in all our people a jealous loyalty to those principles and the framework that supports them.
Oh . . . wait . . . we already did that.
Why I didn't consider Trump's so-called lies to be a big deal is because what's left of our original framework and principles, which would be a real glue to unite us rather than the fake mess we have now, could possibly be led to gradual restoration by appointing judges who would actually support, defend, and abide by that constitutional framework.
Then, if we can restore that original connection that the people of this country had, whatever lies the politicians think they must tell us in order to win will easily be exposed as political unreality if they contradict those principles and that framework which connect us.
Otherwise, we can continue to flounder in the unreal political morass of opposing ideologies which persuade us with lies, slander, and sleaze. And we can continue to bitch about who are the biggest liars.
Does that help answer your question?