Try as I might, I can’t understand why these adherents are so eager to discard a core principle of their Christian faith. God was single-mindedly opposed to lying, so much so, that he made it the 9th Commandment, “Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbor.” In the Christian realm, the Ten Commandments are widely understood as moral imperatives; yet, when the Christianity of these Republicans comes into contact with their politics, if you will pardon the pun, their Christian obligations are “Trumped.” Just because you want to believe the President that doesn’t make what he says true.
Can a president who epitomizes the chronic behavior of habitual or compulsive lying be trusted? Before 2016, I believed the stock answer was—no you can’t. Boy was I ever in need of an epiphany!
The White House and its Republican leadership are in a constant panic trying to put an acceptable spin on the President’s deceit. Apparently, they are succeeding. Recent polls show that regardless of the President’s duplicity, his approval rating among Republicans stands above 80%. Maybe the real question is not can you but should you trust the President?
You can get into terrible trouble ascribing rational self-interest to what a pathological liar is telling you. I learned this lesson 46 years ago when I believed President Nixon when he uttered the now infamous phrase: “I am not a crook.” Nixon made the declaration amid charges related to the Watergate break-in and I bought it hook, line and sinker. I was so committed to the Party that I forced myself to believe Nixon when every fiber of my being was telling me he was lying. In my defense, I was new to the Republican Party and I had this absurdly naïve notion that no President would lie to the American people.
I don’t know if all presidents lie, but some certainly have. Most recently, Presidents Nixon, Reagan and Clinton lied, but they did so for very specific reasons. History records they lied to protect their reputations. That was wrong, and each paid a political price for straying from the truth. However, the sheer frequency, ease and utter joy President Trump derives from lying has no precedent. Those who know him best swear he is OK with lying. He believes it’s OK to do so if he thinks it’s what his audience wants to hear or believe. He calls his mendacity “Useful Hyperbole.” Normally, deceit erodes trust but these are far from normal times.
Please don’t think I am laying all the blame at the feet of President Trump. No, my beef is with the Republican Party. As hyperbole and fabrications ascend to legitimacy and contempt for our leaders, from both sides of the aisle as well as their so-called cronies, is on the rise, there is an urgent need for civic responsibility. I believe all Americans are being hurt by this breakdown in trust.
I know these are strange times to talk about civic responsibility but I see throughout the Republican Party a renewed fascination for a strange amalgamation of nationalism and authoritarianism. This is a seductive notion that a strong authoritarian leader, given sufficient power, can solve all our problems if we cede our political rights and Christian ethics to his leadership. Some Americans are prepared to support such a desertion of our civic duty; I am not. We can pretend that bad things are not happening in our name or we can make good things happen by getting involved in the political process, regardless of our political stripes.
I am convinced that America’s political malaise is driven, in large measure, by the erosion of trust in our public leaders. Under the tutelage of the current administration, the value of truth, ergo trust, has lost considerable luster. But make no mistake about it, trust and truth do matter. We count on honesty from the government. When the truth is buried under a mountain of falsehoods, we cannot make decisions based on facts.
Trust, based on truth, forms the centerpiece of the relationships between government and the American people. The very moment we start to lose trust in the value of truth, democracy starts to decay. Trust that our leaders want the best for the nation, not the best for their cronies and their political parties; trust that in exchange for our loyalty the nation will be rewarded with a better future. This is the glue that keeps democracy from ripping apart. Yet, the issue of untruthfulness, specifically lying, is currently considered an acceptable presidential character deficit by many.
Seemingly, to some of the President’s supporters, lies don’t matter. They remain tightly tethered to presidential falsehoods even after those assertions have been debunked by truth and multiple fact-checking sources. Other supporters may see the President’s claims as dishonesties but tolerate them as part of a “get tough” rhetorical style they admire. But, I suspect most support the President strictly out of loyalty to party over country. I am certain additional underappreciated explanations exist which explain why the President’s “useful hyperboles” have not generated more indignation among Republican supporters and Christians. The administration’s penchant for mendacity begs this question: As citizens, how can any of us know what is fact and what is “useful hyperbole”?
Thus far, lying has proved to be a very successful strategy for the President within the Republican Party, so there is no impetus for him to change. Some will say it’s naïve to ask politicians to be truthful. That may be so. Yet, no matter what culture Americans come from, we teach our children to be truthful in all things, to be kind, to be attentive to the needs of others and to show compassion. These are values we try to instill in every child, qualities we embrace and expect from every child. Why shouldn’t we be able to expect truthfulness from our leaders? The responsibility falls to us.
Truthfulness has always been a mindset rather than a set of rules that any committed person can follow. Truthful leaders must first and foremost, be human beings with potential and with flaws. Good leaders recognize and admit their own imperfections. Nelson Mandela said more than once: “I am not a saint, unless you think of a saint as a sinner who keeps on trying.”
Despite my disagreements with some of the current administration’s policies, I remain optimistic. I believe there is a diverse group of women and men, throughout the nation, ordinary citizens, who believe in the power of truth. They know you don’t have to be in a formal leadership position to insist on honest leadership. Human history has known many moments when change happened, not because leaders led and people followed, but because people led and leaders followed.
These citizen leaders are among us and they will provide us with direction during these troubling times. They are both a source and a test of leadership. If we take them seriously, both on the top as well as at the bottom rungs of the political ladder, then renewed trust will emerge. Trust in each other, trust in the future and most importantly trust in American Democracy. Truth matters.
Ricardo Inzunza, a native of San Diego, California, was appointed Deputy Commissioner of the former Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) by President Ronald Reagan. During his 8-year tenure, his office was the central source for the development, implementation and oversight of all immigration service policies and practices. Now as CEO of RIA International, Ltd, Ricardo is often asked to serve as a business consultant to clients such as the World Bank and the Peoples Republic of China. He can be reached at 662 418 0913 (O), 202 664 3274 (M), or riatria@aol.com