Dishonest leaders and sociopaths are without a conscience and use lies each and every day to benefit and protect their self-interests. Deceit is in their DNA. They only care about themselves and their own wants. Nothing else and nobody else ever matters.
Lies have a selfish purpose.
They are intended to benefit the liar
and keep others from learning the truth.
Liars recognize that repetition is important. When lies are repeated over and over for long periods of time, they tend to gain broad support from people who want them to be true. Furthermore, lies are seldom refuted. Liars know that few people will devote the time, effort and research to fact-check their statements, especially when they make slight modifications each time the lie is spoken. Fact checkers can’t easily keep up with the new changes and would never be able to get the word out about each addition or change to the initial lie?
Lies are like destructive fires that grow and advance quickly.
Unscrupulous people tell lies that spread
faster than they can be disproved and extinguished.
How sad, disappointing and dangerous it is that some people tend to believe and perpetuate lies even after they have been proven wrong. That tends to happen when the lie conforms to the believer’s wants, opinions and emotional needs. A person’s inaccurate and biased 1) social, 2) political, 3) religious, 4) medical and 5) environmental beliefs can be strengthened by lies and misinformation. Additionally, any single belief may color their view of another belief.
A truth is not hard to kill, while a lie well told is immortal.
— Mark Twain
We all rely on respected Leaders, Politicians, Information Experts, Social Media Sites, News Organizations and Other Sources to tell us the truth and give us the facts. Unfortunately, some sources will be wrong. Others will be dishonest. Their words intentionally deceive while they withhold or hide critical and relevant facts.
Nobody likes to be proven wrong and may end up relying upon bad people and misinformation to prove that they are right, especially when they have been getting the results they want and like.
What happens when someone refuses to accept the facts and the truths that prove them wrong? They close their minds and won’t allow opposing information to enter. They completely ignore reality, continue to believe they are right and latch on to any like-minded person or piece of false information that supports their belief. The worst of all situations can occur when people start lying to themselves.
Liars want to:
– Make themselves look good
– Get something they want
– Make others look bad
– Prevent others from getting something
Techniques liars utilize:
– Exaggerate their behavior or actions
– Make false and misleading statements
– Double down or tell a bigger lie
– Repeat the lies over and over again with bravado and conviction
– Ignore or discredit the facts
– Avoid specifics and details
– Withhold information
– Cover up the truth
– Intimidate or discredit those who are telling the truth
– Blame others for the things that don’t work out
– Accumulate loyal supporters who benefit from the lie in some way
Liars use deceit to convince us to believe them. Since the truth, facts, details, examples and explanations matter, we must be careful to place our faith in leaders and information providers who are honest and trustworthy.
Plato once said, “That which comes from the mouth can only be what the mouth is full of.” It is our job to determine what the speaker’s mouth is full of, especially when the mouth belongs to someone we count on for the truth and the facts.
“I’m not upset that you lied to me,
I’m upset that from now on I can’t believe you.”
— Friedrich Nietzsche
When we find that an influential leader has lied to us over and over again, that person no longer deserves our support, trust or respect. Only a fool would continue to rely on the statements made by a prolific liar.