“Lying is the most simple form of self-defense.” -Susan Sontag
Before you pull out your handy stone tablet and haughtily declare, “Thou shalt not bear false witness,” consider the promises (sic) you heard during the last election.
“If I know the answer I’ll tell you the answer, and if I don’t, I’ll just respond, cleverly.” -Donald Rumsfeld
Or how about undercover cops? Their entire career is contingent upon bearing false witness. Actors, fiction writers, filmmakers, lawyers, and poker players can certainly speak volumes about the virtues of deception. What about sports? What is “fake left and go right” if not a premeditated fabrication?
“They used to say, ‘If we find a good black player, we’ll sign him.’ They was lying.” -Cool Papa Bell, Negro Leagues legend
And then there’s the night your mother-in-law asked you to critique her experimental poetry in front of a room full of people. Could you really justify honesty as the best policy at that instant?
“You don’t tell deliberate lies, but sometimes you have to be evasive.” -Margaret Thatcher
Of course, as Nakana Ide, co-author of “The Art of Lying,” puts it, there’s always the enticing reality that “people who can tell lies well often have deeper and more interesting lives.”
“Lying is like alcoholism. You are always recovering.” -Steven Soderbergh
For those still unconvinced, I suggest you hark back to that time you were acting up at the supermarket at, say, age six or so…and your mother sternly warned, “If you don’t quiet down, the policeman outside is going to arrest you!”
“That’s not a lie; it’s a terminological inexactitude. Also, a tactical misrepresentation.” -General Alexander Haig
If you had somehow summoned the courage to peek out into the parking lot, you would have quickly learned that not only was there no policeman in sight, but that dear old Mom was a friggin’ liar.
“It’s not a matter of what is true that counts but a matter of what is perceived to be true.” -Henry Kissinger
So, start fabricating, folks…everybody’s doing it.
MICKEY Z. is telling the truth when he says he’s the author of five books, most recently, “50 American Revolutions You’re Not Supposed to Know: Reclaiming American Patriotism” (Disinformation Books). It’s no lie that he can be found on the Web at: http://www.mickeyz.net.
CLARIFICATION
ALEXANDER COCKBURN, JEFFREY ST CLAIR, BECKY GRANT AND THE INSTITUTE FOR THE ADVANCEMENT OF JOURNALISTIC CLARITY, COUNTERPUNCH
We published an article entitled “A Saudiless Arabia” by Wayne Madsen dated October 22, 2002 (the “Article”), on the website of the Institute for the Advancement of Journalistic Clarity, CounterPunch, www.counterpunch.org (the “Website”).
Although it was not our intention, counsel for Mohammed Hussein Al Amoudi has advised us the Article suggests, or could be read as suggesting, that Mr Al Amoudi has funded, supported, or is in some way associated with, the terrorist activities of Osama bin Laden and the Al Qaeda terrorist network.
We do not have any evidence connecting Mr Al Amoudi with terrorism.
As a result of an exchange of communications with Mr Al Amoudi’s lawyers, we have removed the Article from the Website.
We are pleased to clarify the position.
August 17, 2005