LIES, DAMN LIES! AND WHAT TO DO ABOUT IT

So many lies are now percolating throughout our society over healthcare and other social and political debates that we are suffering from misinformation overload. And it is fueling irrational anger that creates divisions among us.

Why is it that in a democratic and free society is lying to the public allowed? We have a right to free speech, but should lying, an attempt to defraud the people, be a right? Free speech is rightfully restrained in some circumstances, such as attempting to cause a panic by shouting “Fire!” in a crowded venue when no such circumstance exists because that is a lie that threatens people's well-being. When overexercise of free speech threatens the well-being of others it must be restrained. Only under oath in the courtroom, is lying considered perjury – literally, misleading the jury. But shouldn't We, the People have a right to the truth? Certainly, opinions and speculations, whether fact based or not, should have a venue to be aired in public, but those should be stated that they are opinion or speculation and not absolute fact. Sometimes we can't know all the facts and speculation or opinion are ways toward finding those facts. This condition shouldn't affect the exercise of free speech.

Facts are immutable, they can be proved or validated by anyone using the same procedures. That's why we often call them, “Hard, cold facts.” They aren't open to interpretation except in a larger context when in concert with other facts, opinion and speculation. Willfully asserting that a concept is factual without having proof or even disproof is lying, whether one believes it or not. Belief is not fact, no matter how fervently it is believed. Facts must hold to a higher standard, else we would know nothing.

It's time that we consider lying for public consumption be considered a criminal act, punishable by public shaming and high fines, and in egregious cases, a limitation of some of the offender's rights for a designated time. It would make people think before speaking. Shooting off at the mouth is too often driven by irrational emotion that blocks rational thinking, or else it is craven political manipulation for power at the expense of others. This simple solution would make our society a much better one.

WHY HAVE AMERICANS LOST THEIR BALLS?

The current, acrimonious healthcare debate in Congress should be a clear demonstration that Americans have lost their balls. This is not a recent loss, but a slow decline in the power of the people. Many polls indicate that most of us want a public option of some kind or even a single-payer system, but only a few members of Congress support this plan. Most members of Congress didn't want a public option on the table. What arrogance! Only a significant public outcry by public interest groups and progressives forced it to be considered. Why? Our representatives are tied to big, corporate money and their lobbyists: health insurance, big pharma, the AMA. It's special interests determining this debate and many others that affect the well-being of the nation. Healthcare legislation is such a prime example of the rot at the political core of our nation. We should know this, but why do we allow it? Why are we so acquiescent to political powers that only have a narrow interest at heart and don't give a damn about the rest of us? America is supposed to be a country for all of us, but we have allowed minority powers to control us. They control Congress and the presidential administrations through lobbying, an inherently unfair and undemocratic practice. Can we find the balls to take it back? It will be a big fight because these institutions have great wealth and the ability to control and manipulate media and information. They are the filter through which we are allowed to view social policies. They want us kept in the dark, want us to be contented consumers of entertainment and pleasurable products so they can make profit. They don't believe in freedom, individual rights, fairness, equality and justice. We don't have a democracy, but a plutocracy or oligarchy in which only a few people rule for their benefit and the rest of us exist to be exploited. Social needs, the poor and the environment be damned. This is the legacy of so-called free market Capitalism.

We must stop the political power of business and other private institutions to rule our country. How can we take it back? Will it take another revolution? Each citizen must have an equal share of political power, no more or less than any other, and no other institution should have any political power. Institutions should exist only to serve us. Social privilege should be eliminated. Even our representatives should only have the political power we invest in them and they should be forced to act as we wish. They are our employees hired to do a job of governing. Representatives should only be allowed to interact with their constituents who voted for them, and no others. They should exist to carry out our collective will, not their private will. They should also be informed and skilled politicians who can advise us on issues before we make decisions and tell them how to vote.

All of us need to be more involved in government, after all, we are supposed to be the government, but we have abdicated that duty. We can't anymore allow government to be left only in the hands of elected and appointed officials. Human nature dictates that governors will govern in their own way absent supervision. A free flow of information is required among all citizens and their officials for government to be functional and just. Responsibility for just, fair government rests on all of us. Let's take our balls back. That's the healthcare we need now.