The general uncertainty as to what is really happening makes it easier to cling to lunatic beliefs. Since nothing is ever quite proved or disproved, the most unmistakable fact can be impudently denied. Moreover, although endlessly brooding on power, victory, defeat, revenge, the nationalist is often somewhat uninterested in what happens in the real world. What he wants is to feel that his own unit is getting the better of some other unit, and he can more easily do this by scoring off an adversary than by examining the facts to see whether they support him.
George Orwell - Notes on Nationalism
My Thoughts On Lying
Although the main purpose of this blog was to draw attention to things that are untrue,
I find it oddly difficult to come straight to the point and call these untruths lies
.
This is partly because I'm meek and mild and don't want to be sued,
but there are a couple more objections.
One is that it's difficult to determining when someone is actually lying and when they are just wrong. It can be a fruitless task trying to separate the genuinely deceitful from the credulous or ignorant.
The other is that whilst the act of lying can be a tool of propagandists, accusing others of lying can be an even more effective propaganda trick. Claiming your opponents of doing what you continuously do is a great way of confusing the issue, and at its most successful allows your faithful side to disbelieve any evidence used against you, with the added benefit of allowing your followers to feel superior. Your enemies are such gullible fools believing their own sides propaganda.
You should be prepared to call out obvious lies, but it's more important to explain why the lie is false rather than just shout LIAR, LIAR
.
Look for evidence, ask for sources, don't assume that everything that agrees with your world view is true.
