The Lying Liars.

One of the interesting parts of United States politics and campaigns is the amount of lying that goes on. It all started from the beginning. Jefferson and Adams fought dirty. Jefferson called Adams: a hideous hermaphroditic character, which has neither the force and firmness of a man, nor the gentleness and sensibility of a woman. Adams called Jefferson: a mean-spirited, low-lived fellow, the son of a half-breed Indian-squaw, sired by a Virginian mulatto father. Apparently Jefferson's smear was better since he won.

Today is no different. It seems that all it takes is just figuring out how to say your lie so that it seems like the truth and that it comes from someone with a title. This way, as Stephen Colbert puts it, the truthiness comes through.

It is obvious that the Kingdom of Earth continues to function as it always has, the powerful will keep their power no matter the cost, even to enslaving their own people. Even Jeremiah knows this: Do not let the prophets and the diviners who are among you deceive you, and do not listen to the dreams that they dream, for it is a lie that they are prophesying to you in my name; I did not send them, says the LORD. 29:8-9

We are called to a different way, of course. We are called to cut through the malarkey (yes I used that word) and get to the truth. The truth, that is, of God and not of the prophets of profits. As such we are called to call a dog a dog and a fish a fish. But, alas we are caught in the web of it all and it may be difficult to find the fact amidst the gibberish and you may be convinced that it is a dogfish. But, we must try.

Here are a few good habits to get into: Read more than one news source and preferably a couple from overseas. Check out places like factcheck.org, politifact.com, or snopes.com. Good places to lift the curtain on many false statements. Another good habit is wait a few days to see how a story plays out. It is fascinating to watch a lie be told and then discredited by the same news source (Who does their fact checking?) It takes work, but it is worth it to come to a better understanding of any issue! I think God would like that.