Apathy Toward Lying Is Poisonous

 “Mr. Selig Looked at me and said, ‘I want to know one thing.  Did you bet on baseball?  I looked him in the eye.   “Yes sir, I did bet on baseball.’  ‘How often?’ he asked.  ‘Four or five times a week,’ I replied. ‘Why?’ he asked.  ‘I didn’t think I’d get caught,’ I said.”  ~ Pete Rose 

It is hard to say where and when it all began but it is now a full-blown epidemic. 

President Bill Clinton lied about his relationship with Jennifer flowers on “60 Minutes” when seeking the presidency in 1992.    On December 19, 1998 he was impeached by the House of Representatives for perjury (lying) and obstruction of justice surrounding his inappropriate sexual relationships with Monica Lewinski and Paula Jones.  

Certainly, we hoped this to be a rare occurrence.  Ah, but enter Anthony Weiner.  He lied about his posting of lewd pictures on the internet before finally admitting he had done so.  Like President Nixon, and unlike President Clinton, Weiner chose to vacate his elected position with a list of mea-culpas that assured us this would never reoccur.  Then, like President Clinton, Weiner continued his lurid activities and then, once again, ran for public office with what he believed to be a reasonable expectation of winning. 

Rare occurrence number three.   Baseball’s 2011 National League MVP, Ryan Braun, lied about his drug use to everyone in sight in 2012.  On July 22, 2013, Braun accepted, without appeal, a 65-game suspension for both his drug use and his lying about it.  

At this point we can skip all the juicy details surrounding so many others, such as; Newt Gingrich, former North Carolina Senator John Edwards, Tiger Woods, Arnold Swarzenaggar, a host of unfaithful, dishonest CEO’s who lied, not to mention the deplorable lack of integrity witnessed by our financial institutions which brought us to the brink of another financial depression. None of those bankers have been held accountable for their actions because they didn’t break any laws.  They just lied.

Even with a plethora of publicly distributed and widely known truths surrounding the many lies from high profiled individuals, Aaron Rogers, like Pete Rose, must have believed; ‘I didn’t think I’d get caught.  Asked if he was vaccinated against Conid-19, Rodgers said, "Yeah, I've been immunized."   Rogers then tested positive for Covid-19.  In a 46-minute interview on “The Pat McAfee Show” Rogers confirmed he had not been inoculated after he had led everyone to believe otherwise.  Rogers continued the deceit by trying to manipulate us into believing he didn’t actually lie. Without stating it directly, his basic contention was that his deceit shouldn't be misconstrued as a lie.  He made every effort to convince us that a failed attempt at willful and purposeful deceit is the same thing as the truth.  What Rogers was successful in communicating and clearly demonstrating was his dreadful lack of personal character and the fact that he is an idiot. 

Those who still value (trite?) characteristics like integrity and honesty are now asking; can this be the new America?  Is this the future world for our children and grandchildren?   Toward that end we may wish to consider the following. 

A recent CBS poll revealed that 86% of those questioned believe congress is doing a poor job. However, 50% of those polled think their representatives are doing a good job.  As more congressional districts become strongholds for political parties through redistricting and other shenanigans, the stalemates and polarization will certainly continue.  That will require us to make significant changes when we vote.  To do so we must abandon the belief that it’s the other fella’s responsibility to get his act together - not ours, while additionally refusing to cheer for the Green Bay Packers as long as Aaron Rogers remains on the team. 

It was most disheartening in 2012 to witness overwhelming and enthusiastic Democratic support for President Clinton as he vigorously campaigned for President Obama.  Meanwhile, both Monica Lewinski and Linda Tripp are viewed unfavorably and, of course, many blame a Republican majority in the House of Representatives for President Clinton’s impeachment.  All those other people were responsible for the Presidents and ultimately Americas embarrassment???  This has to stop. 

Major League Baseball offers some hope here.  

San Francisco Giants centerfielder Melky Cabrera won the All-Star Game MVP Award in 2012.  Thirty days later he was suspended for 50 games for drug violations.  Cabrera had also collected enough at bats to claim the National League batting title in 2012 but voluntarily relinquished it.  When Cabrera’s suspension ended the Giants refused to reinstate him even though they were in the midst of a battle to secure the National League Peanut.  The Giants went on to win the World Series without Cabrera – without their best player.  That’s organizational integrity.

Baseball has controlled gambling within the game with a no-tolerance policy of expulsion.  Their hard line with Joe Jackson and Pete Rose has all but guaranteed no such nonsense should ever reoccur.  Baseball needs to adopt the same hard line if it is serious about solving its drug problem and we as a nation must do exactly the same thing.  

We must begin to hold ourselves accountable for the continuation of this despicable behavior.  It is time to STOP cheering these lying louts and time to exile them by attaching the social stigma to them they have earned and so richly deserve.  Yes - we must always forgive but never forget.  Forgetting and the absence of stiff consequences only provides for more of the same unsavory behavior.  We must begin this process soon if we ever hope to quell this epidemic.   The evidence is undeniable.