"As long ago as the inauguration of Ronald Reagan, it struck me that politicians lie in very different ways. In fact, I penned a lyric related to this: "George Washington couldn't tell a lie/Richard Nixon couldn't tell the truth/And Ronald Reagan couldn't tell/the difference 'tween the two..."
Somewhat more rigorously, it seemed sensible to distinguish between pragmatic liars (those who lied for very specific reasons) as opposed to pathological liars (those who lie compulsively whether they need to or not) or bullshitters (those who simply say whatever's convenient or whatever pops in their head, truth, lies, it's all the same).
Pragmatic liars, in turn, could be divided into tactical liars and strategic liars, though it was clearly possible for someone to be both. And these could also be divided into offensive vs. defensive liars-again with the caveat that one can easily be both.
It seemed to me that virtually anyone in politics was bound to be a tactical defensive liar-caught in a bad situation, virtually anyone in politics will lie out of sheer self-preservation. But there's quite a difference between that and someone who builds a career on a long-term premeditated strategy of lying to people, and another larger difference between that and someone who is seemingly incapable of every telling the truth."
Alguém dizia-me que os políticos acreditam sempre naquilo que afirmam, e isso sempre se me afigurou, como um juízo de realidade não trivial e merecedor de consideração. Mas a mentira existe em política, e como tal, haveria que integrar as duas constatações num quadro interpretativo mais largo - não faz nada mal sofrermos de alguma dissonância cognitiva, logo que a reconhece-mo-la como tal.
Continuar a ler em Open Left:: Three Perspectives on The (D)evolution of Rightwing Lies.
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