For the first time since George Washington, America might have a president who “cannot tell a lie.” That nice myth about what Americans expect of our leaders in terms of character and integrity, so no, it’s not Hilary.
Actually, it’s Donald Trump who “cannot tell a lie.” Huh? To better understand this claim, track down a 2005 monograph, ON BS, by Harry G. Frankfurt, professor of philosophy emeritus at Princeton University. The book is an inquiry into the phenomenon of BS. (Mike Smedley recently used this abbreviation, so it should be OK.)
An excerpt: “He (the BSer) does not reject the authority of the truth, as the liar does, and oppose himself to it. He pays no attention to it at all. By virtue of this, BS is a greater enemy of the truth than lies are.” Not paying attention to the truth sounds a lot like the only American male who cannot rock a baseball cap without looking like a total doofus.
Concealing or reporting facts assumes that there are specific, knowable facts. Trump does not believe that there are statements that are true and statements that are false, and so he continues to make assertions that claim to describe reality. His assertions are, indeed, the greater enemy of truth.
How is Trump the nominee of the Republican Party? Well, it’s certainly not the party of Lincoln or Teddy Roosevelt. Neither is it the Party of Eisenhower, Nixon or Reagan. Since the 1990s it’s been the party of Barry Goldwater – behaving more like a religious cult than a political party.
With the Trump nomination, the Republican Party has become the party of slack-jawed, mouth-breathing, mentally defective moonbats. Too harsh? Really? David Duke, Joe Arpaio, Ted Nugent, Sarah Palin – need more? What’s a moonbat? Someone who does not recognize BS when he or she is standing in it, i.e. anyone who thinks Trump should be the next leader of the free world.
Kevin Devine
Durango
