On Lying

The brilliant Orson Scott Card is worth more than a glance for his essary in War Watch - November - On Lying

[Excerpt]

[Card] ...I think you confessed something a moment ago when you said, 'You conservatives just can't forget how popular and successful Clinton was.' I think you just confessed your own motive for attacking Bush with such hatred and virulence. The thing you can't forgive him for is that he actually took action after 9/11 -- not just a few token missiles fired at empty training camps, but actual, effective action -- and the army, when it was used for its proper purpose, was extraordinarily successful. You wanted Bush to fail, and you just can't stand it that he hasn't."

[The Anti-Bush] "Hasn't he? Aren't our soldiers still dying over in Iraq?"

[Card ] "Yes, they are. That's because they're still fighting the war in Iraq, and when you fight wars, people die. More people will probably die in the U.S., too, because you can bet that our enemies are doing everything they can to mount another series of terrorist attacks here. But please keep in mind: George W. Bush is not killing our soldiers, our enemies are, and those enemies were killing our soldiers before we invaded Iraq or Afghanistan -- just in case you've forgotten. Bush didn't start this war. He merely carried it to the enemy and started fighting it on their soil, liberating a few oppressed countries along the way."

[The Anti-Bush] "It's another quagmire, like Vietnam."

[Card]"It will only be like Vietnam if a certain party in Congress forbids the President to fight it using the full power of the United States."

[The Anti-Bush] "In other words, you're in George W. Bush's pocket, and he can do no wrong."

[Card]"I'm in nobody's pocket, and if he actually does wrong, I'll be the first to say so -- which I've done on various occasions. But what I'll never do is accuse a man of the kind of vile crimes you've accused him of, on the basis of the same complete lack of evidence that you have for your accusations."

[The Anti-Bush] "You're just naive."

[Card] "You're just partisan. You have no allegiance to truth. You simply tell whatever stories will make your opponents look bad, whether they're true or not."

[The Anti-Bush] "Are you calling me a liar?"

[Card] "That's a funny thing to resent, considering how freely you call George W. Bush a liar. But no, I'm not saying you're a liar. I'm saying you don't actually care about the difference between truth and lies. All you care about is usefulness. All you care about is whether the public might believe your slanderous slogans and send Bush's popularity ratings down. I think that's worse than lying. At least a liar has to keep track of the truth in order to adjust his lies to fit the facts. You simply don't care."

[Pointer via Cold Fury

Posted by Vanderleun at November 25, 2003 3:41 PM