.jpg)
Mer r iamWe b s t e r ’s dictionary defines dissemble as “to put on a false appearance: conceal facts, intentions, or feelings under some pretense.”
I learned my ethics where most of us do, I imagine, from my parents. Those standards of morality were reinforced in Presbyterian Sunday school and by every teacher I had in public school and college, as well as by the company that I kept.
And still keep! If all the known facts were not included in an explanation it was considered lying.
One might argue that all the facts might not be known, or understood, by the speaker or writer, but that only means the conveyer of misrepresentations has not used due diligence in assuring the accuracy of his/her comments. The damage is the same, whether or not the speaker/ writer was deliberately misleading the listener or reader.
I expect most adults are familiar with the oath witnesses in court are required to deliver before testifying, “I swear to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, so help me God.”
Do we really need to swear we won’t lie? Shouldn’t we as civilized people, living in a democracy, unthinkingly hold the truth, the whole truth, sacrosanct?
But, when one chooses to report that “in Florida a FEMA official put out a directive for FEMA workers not to stop at any damaged properties have Trump election signs” [SIC] without pointing out that the offending official was fired for doing so, he/she has neglected to do more than merely forego proofreading.
That person, whether intentionally or not, has slandered everyone working at the Federal Emergency Management Agency, a group of 22,991 people (September, 2023) “dedicated to helping people before, during, and after disasters.” Indeed, following repeated misrepresentations of such biased, incomplete “facts,” FEMA employees’ lives were reportedly threatened.
Would we stand for anyone slandering and smearing one of our volunteer fire departments because one member did something unacceptable?
Or is it just that partisan scrutiny of anything done during an opposing administration And do we really need God’s help to not lie?
I suppose it’s a legal necessity to let the witness know that there will be legal ramifications for failure to be totally honest.
is fair game to undermine and discredit, even if it takes the seasoning that lies and subterfuge add to the effort?
Rivian Automotive, another item of criticism, has been only partially reported. True, the Department of Energy has set a grant to Rivian of $6.57 billion, but only if it locates its factory in Georgia. There is also pressure that it allow unions at its factory.
Showing an international interest in its endeavors, Rivian Automotive has also attracted the attention of the Volkswagen Group with a three-year joint venture that will bring it $5.8 billion.
I’m not suggesting that Rivian is an up-and-coming, worthwhile business, but culling out facts that may favor a subject someone is attempting to malign is libelous and deceives one’s reader.
What I am advocating for is honest and constructive debate. When I read or hear critics who have clearly not done their utmost to get all the facts and disclose them completely and accurately, I figure I’m looking at opinions of “one exhibiting blind, prejudiced, and unreasoning allegiance…to only one side of the problem.”
A shamelessly prejudiced source is too bereft of facts, either on purpose or by ignorance, to offer meaningful considerations.
Propaganda has no place in the public forum, particularly when its sole purpose is to undermine the public’s trust in government agencies that have been created to enhance the people’s lives.
As for January dates to look forward to, I have mine, too.
The first is Jan. 6, when the House and Senate vote to certify last November’s vote count for president and vice president.
It’s the opportunity to see what patriotic, honest supporters of our Constitution do when they have pledged to uphold the laws of our democracy.
Following the vote, Kamala Harris will do what that Constitution calls for the vice president, as President of the Senate, to do: announce the vote of congressional certification.
As Mike Pence noted four years ago, it is a ceremonial act by the President of the Senate and does not have the option to be countermanded by a sore loser.
There have not been two months of unsubstantiated cries of voter fraud and stolen election by a failed candidate. There will be no violent, seditious attack on the Capitol, provoked and instigated by the loser of November’s vote.
The second date is Jan. 20, when departing President Joe Biden will attend the swearing in of the new president and do his ceremonial peaceful passing over of the reins of power to the incoming president.
This time our Constitution will be respected and followed without lies and violence.
