To the Editor:
Forty years ago, the only United States president ever to resign left office under a cloud caused not so much by what he had done, as by persistent accusations that he lied to the American people. What a difference 40 years makes.
The current occupant of the White House demonstrably lies to the American people almost daily, but hardly an eyebrow is raised. The only reasonable conclusion to be drawn is that the American people now want their leaders to lie to them, so long as the lie is an agreeable one.
Such a situation does not bode well for the future. Buying a wagonload of horse manure because someone has told you it is porterhouse steak and offered you a good price reinforces John Gruber's opinion of the American people, and encourages leaders to tell even bigger lies just because they can.
The alternative is to use your ears and what is between them, to read and listen to what leaders are saying and analyze it to determine the truth. That is not easy, because it is not only leaders who must be judged critically, but also the media. Journalists no longer seek to inform, but to transform society. And in their "reporting," the end justifies the means, as most recently demonstrated by the UVA rape scandal and the reaction to it.
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So finding the truth is a tall order, but if we don't do it, we will continue to buy high-priced horse manure.
Mike Baker
Mitchell
