The basic fabric of the Office and our democracy.

One of the first civics lessons I remember receiving as a child was the story of George Washington and the cherry tree.

It turns out to be mostly myth, but the moral of the story was and is valid. For me, it set “true north” as the moral compass for not only our leaders, but citizens as well. The gist of the story was that as a child he chopped down a family’s cherry tree. When the crime was discovered, George stepped forward, told the truth by admitting his guilt, and prepared for punishment – “I cannot tell a lie, I did it.” See more here: https://www.mountvernon.org/george-washington/the-man-the-myth/george-washington-and-the-cherry-tree...

Our collective American story contains as much from fiction as non-fiction. As comic books spread into mainstream middle class America, they featured super heroes with astonishing powers, unbelievable strength, and impeccable integrity and characters. Superman frequent swooped across the sky and out of the frame declaring, “Truth, justice and the American way.”

Consider too the classic fable of the boy who always cried wolf. When the day comes when the wolf indeed shows up and poses danger to the village, no one would believe his warning exclamations because all too often he had lied before. He was not to be believed on this fateful day.

But, in politics and business, and perhaps everyday life on the streets of America, things have changed. Little exaggerations, innuendo, mis-speaking, and hyperbole have migrated to become outright lies. Lying today is nowhere more pervasive than in the nation’s highest office. It is used to fan the flames of fear, stoke bigotry, change opinions, and simply confuse the uniformed and too-lazy-to-factcheck electorate.

But, when our leaders lie openly and frequently to us, it ultimately will hurt them more than us. The question is, can we afford to be hurt at all in a democracy that is solidly leaning toward a fascist dictatorship at this point with lying making a foundation of that transition?

We cannot trust what the President says, and therefore, lose faith in our government to look out for our best interests. When a president lies, it reflects poorly on their integrity and character. It demonstrates, all too often, that he is incapable of distinguishing fact from fiction.

It all goes toward honesty of the individual. And the office he holds. Even though he put his hand on the Bible and swore to uphold the Constitution and be honest when he took the Oath of Office?

It doesn’t remain isolated to just the President. Look at indictments and convictions by Robert Mueller’s Russia investigation of the Trump administration. Almost all those indicted have perjury charges included. Lying is rampant. Yet, for many Americans, it’s either okay, overlooked, or believed.

The Washington Post has reported, “ President Trump has made 6,420 false or misleading claims over 649 days ” in a headline not long ago. They reported, “If President Trump’s torrent of words has seemed overwhelming of late, there’s a good reason for that. In the first nine months of his presidency, Trump made 1,318 false or misleading claims , an average of five a day. But in the seven weeks leading up the midterm elections, the president made 1,419 false or misleading claims — an average of 30 a day.”

Here are some additional thoughts on the impact and hazards of the intentional lies coming from this president from Salon : We need to stop lying to kids about Donald Trump https://www.salon.com/2019/01/19/we-need-to-stop-lying-to-kids-about-donald-trump/

Hopefully, we can return to a more honest, believable, honorable president and administration in 2020. Because, I cannot tell a lie; this behavior will be devastating to our democracy other wise. Honestly? Yes.