Smarter Than Thou!

(NOT) GREAT EXPECTATIONS

I once heard a legal scholar point out an interesting (and no longer in effect) principle of American legal practice.  It was that, in murder trials, the defendant was not allowed to testify.  I think that the argument was that, as he already had pled not guilty, why bother?  The judge and jury could safely assume that the innocent and the guilty defendant would say the same thing, namely “I did not do it.”  To put this in another way, when the statement is already known before being spoken, the matter becomes, at the most, a matter of style.  This is not to minimize the value of style.  It is my opinion that the ability to speak well and publicly is the one talent that is helpful in every field and effort.  However, truth is independent of style. 

This offering of mine deals, indirectly. with Donald Trump.  It is needless (but I shall do it anyway) to point out that a large percentage of the public dislikes---even hates---him.  I also point out that an approximately equal percentage support and defend him.  The issue or target that often arouses some of the passion is the matter of truth/lies. Is it fair to declare Trump to be a “liar?”  I assume that everyone lies at times.  I also assume that we all also tell the truth, at times.  So all adult rational humans fall into an “in between” category.  But some of us are clearly closer to one extreme.  Is it fair to put Trump into the serious liar category?  Let me offer a working definition of a lie.  It is an untruth knowingly told with the intention of creating malice.

I offer my services to clear up the matter… at least a little.  First, not every spoken untruth is a lie.  Actors tell untruths all the time… in plays.  Jokes that begin “a priest and a rabbi” are not necessarily factual.  Teachers, coaches, bosses, etc, often, in an attempt to increase favorable production, will let their zeal induce them to exceed strictly factual limitations.  Policemen and defense attorneys both often lie “professionally,” as do doctors.  Actually these untruths are not lies, and can be untruths expressed with the goal that a greater good (rather than malice) may be accomplished.  The doctor who gives the patient hope (even when without foundation) may have well served his profession and his client. The obligation to tell the truth is not universal.

Public opinion polls show that the public has low opinions of politicians in general. One reason is that most of us have the expectation that, like used car salesmen, the politician does not tell the truth every time he speaks.  Usually we do not have “great expectations.” 

I once read a religious tract that argued that not everyone is entitled to truth.  For example, we should not tell the truth to a criminal.  When he commits a crime we should try to inhibit his actions, even if this means “lying.”  If a person has a just right to knowledge (as in a court action) then an untruth is a lie and wrong.  However, when it is expected that what a person says is not true, or at least highly suspect, no lie has been committed, because the communication has not been “completed.”  And when a person (such as Trump) expresses many things that are not accepted as truth, he becomes an actor acting out a script.  He becomes similar to a coach telling his team that they can beat the better team.  To summarize; as everyone frequently discounts what he says Trump is pretty much incapable of telling a credible lie. And thus he is not the liar that enemies accuse him of being.

 

UNDERSTANDINGG DONALD

This is about Donald Trump (and others), so, of course, it should begin with a quote from Shakespeare.  And it does, with “all the world is a stage.” I hold that it is in different ways.  One, as William put it, is that a man plays different “roles” (e.g. youth or husband) depending upon his age and circumstances.  These conditions usually establish a context within which others judge and draw conclusions. 

Basically, this means that we learn whom to believe, trust, etc, and whom not to believe.  Most of us know someone who has endless dreams, and even can describe detailed plans.  We also know if we should believe that he will attempt to follow through on his plans or not.  Similarly, in negations with a supplier the customer often knows that a “rock bottom price” is still not the lowest.  The coach who strongly assures his team of victory may yet expect to lose the game. 

In other words, a “completed statement,” is one that is properly understood. It may not actually indicate what it strictly conveys.  This is to say, as Shakespeare would put it, actors say lines which may have nothing to do with the real person who plays the roles.  No one calls them liars.  His enemies do not understand that Trump is, in his heart, a stand-up comic, with, occasionally, serious issues and powerful ideas.  It would be useful to understand which Trump is functioning at any time.

These days the word “liar” is used promiscuously. Allow me to comment on these charges against Trump.  He is frequently---endlessly!---attacked as one.  Yet, in fact, I offer that the charge is unfounded… at least some of the time.  First, apparently intentionally, Donald presents himself as playing the role of “one of the guys”---the type who occupy middle class bars.  Precision in language among this class is not valued, nor required.  Words are used primarily to identify positions and values, and not to expresses nuances.  This type, along with most Trump supporters, overlook factual errors.  They see them as trivial things, having as little significance as grammatical or spelling errors. 

Before I mentioned a completed statement with reference to the full meaning of a statement.  I hold that there is also a completed lie, that expresses the truth, namely a variation of the facts.  For example, “Mexico should pay,” when completed in the brain of the listener, actually is: “I would like it better if Mexico could be made to pay.”  The fact that a few words are left out does not mean that we can not supply them for ourselves.  Actors do this all the time, using tone and gestures to complete a line in the mind of the viewer. 

ALL presidents are subject to analysis after presentations of goals and positions.  However, Trump is held to a higher standard while offering a lower one.  To accept his crude expressions the elite would need to soil themselves. It is simpler to declare him a liar and sip some sherry.   

Thus, when properly understood, Trump is no more a liar than the rest of us… well, maybe a little bit more.