Who hasn’t told a lie? Or if it helps to better set your moral compass ─ a fainter fib or weaker white lie? It is a human trait, be it to protect the feelings of others (does my bum look big in this?) or to simply swerve scrutiny of a scandalous swindle (I didn’t text them!). I’ve done it. Nothing to be proud of, but nonetheless the truth. Lies uttered in everyday life can oscillate between simply being lost in the ether ─ dismissed at source ─ to the true terror of dismantled lives and damaged relationships. Yet wherever these lies land on the continuum of corruption, localised lying lassoes only a handful of victims – primary and secondary. Outside of this quantifiable cohort there is usually an insulating ring of onlookers, either amused or appalled, yet arguably entertained. But here is the point – the harm is limited. Collateral damage is contained. The rules of the lying game remain consistent until, that is, the merchants of the mendacious hold public office. There is something incredibly repulsive about a representative of the rank and file who lies. Entrusting the collective hopes, ambitions and safeguarding of the many to someone, often representing hundreds, thousands, or millions of others, who then explicitly lies about the very things delegated into their care is an incredibly special type of terrorising tyranny. I’m right, aren’t I? So why are we often happy to accept, excuse, and champion those who deceive us in the open, whilst our eyes are fully widened, and our ears attuned to every contemptable con? In an attempt to unravel this mystery, I will examine the public office liar, the gullible who are taken in by the scamster, and the fascinatingly flawed folk who park their wagons in a secure circle around the snake oil sales rep. And in doing so encourage you to reflect on who is pulling your strings?
It takes a very special superpower to lie to a nationwide audience. To lie, deny and stupefy on an industrial scale whilst showing no genuine contrition doesn’t come easy. In the same manner in which an Olympian becomes a gold medallist, they have to start young, getting up early to practise, prioritise and perfect the skill so that it becomes their central calling. An embodiment of the cause that becomes a characteristic that can never be undone. A personal reality that the holder is convinced is as natural as the normal nurture that the vast majority of us possess.
Infantile omnipotence is compelling, and we can all naturally and healthily engage with this form of thinking in our formative years. Dressing up as a hero, drawing your own make-believe sword of destiny from an imaginary sheath and wearing a batman suit, as I did as a kid, is normal. Even though my outfit had been made by my grandma who had misjudged the eye sockets so that I could only see properly out of one at a time, it didn’t distract me from the feeling of power. As an adult I can reflect on this period of my life with a broad smile, although I have to accept that it was fantasy. A lie. I wasn’t a wealthy American industrialist who spent his evenings fighting the criminal gangs of Nottingham. In loving environments this juvenile feeling of supremacy, invincibility, and fantasy where the lies are eagerly accepted, and often applauded by adoring parents and relations, lessens as childhood engages with the broader and inclusive behavioural characteristics of honesty, integrity, and accountability; whereas, in traumatic childhoods devoid of care and compassion, where culpability is rarely sought or enforced, this state of mind continues to develop to become a primary personality trait. In adulthood this syndrome is narcissism.
Narcissists are manipulative, sinister and self-absorbed ─ although they genuinely believe that they are far too clever to be found out, especially by those they exercise control over. Indeed, the impressively skilled who never grow out of infantile omnipotence believe in their infallibility. Elect a narcissist to a position of power and the egomaniac energy literally knows no bounds, trashing any conventions, restrictions or even laws that, in their view of the world, only apply to the smaller people. In the UK the Nolan Principles that outline the doctrines of public service decency simply have no meaning to a narcissist. Being called out, exposed, or brought to book will rarely lead to an admission as the only learnt form of defence is attack, with the leverage of even more lies. And never underestimate the compelling nature and plausibility of these lies. Remember that the orator has been perfecting this art since they were toddlers and steadfastly believe that you are too dense to disagree or challenge them. They are also blissfully aware that you are conditioned to trust those in power, as they conveniently take cover behind the impenetrable and solid political armour of democracy ─ the antithesis to their core values, yet ironically the legitimacy that the vast majority of us other authentic mortals revere and to which we are held hostage. This harrowing event horizon has been labelled by psychiatrists as cognitive dissonance.
American social psychologist Leon Festinger concluded that humans crave psychological stability in order to function in the often complex world around them. He observed a cult which believed that the earth would be destroyed by a flood that never happened. The less fanatical believers accepted that they had been foolish, yet the extremists, many of whom who gave up their homes and jobs to work for the cult, reinterpreted the outcome as justification that they were right all along since their collective belief had prevented the catastrophe.
A key belief, often concocted by falsehood, which threatens the resultant mental discomfort can motivate a thought pattern that calms the cognitive discord. For many of us coping with conflicting intelligence is really hard work and stressful. Festinger suggested that some people will simply resolve this conflict by irrationally trusting whatever they want to believe; more often than not believing in the powerful narcissist and adopting coping strategies to overcome awkward challenges from their peers. Distraction techniques invariably connect with such grammar gems as, “Could you do any better?” or, “At least the other lot aren’t in charge!” If all else fails, “We voted for it. That’s democracy. Get over it!” I should remind those that utter the latter that an alternative word for democracy is fairness. This equivalent descriptor engages with equality and justice – elements that can only ever exist with truth. As we have already explored, a narcissist is incapable of aligning themselves to this outcome, and dishonesty is the golden thread throughout their lives and all undertakings. They can never be trusted. It is easy to rely on the Mark Twain quote, “Never argue with an idiot. They will drag you down to their level and beat you with experience,” although this would be too simplistic since narcissism and cognitive dissonance are wholly convincing to those that hold these parallel beliefs. Both rely on each other and are complementary acquaintances even though believers will always be harmed. Like the fable of the scorpion and the frog the persuasive insect will always behave the way in which they do, even when both parties come to grief in the end; but what motivates those within the inner circle to defend the indefensible until the narcissist is finally slain? To slavishly support the stupid?
Narcissists are conniving and ruthless enough to ensure that their current position is better protected by surrounding themselves with the weak; however, in doing so they ensure undying loyalty, even in the face of reckless acts that are easily called out by others, by giving the feeble the ultimate aphrodisiac for those that yearn to be taken seriously. The contract is: your undying devotion will always be rewarded with POWER. As Lord Acton, the 19th-century British historian, put it, “Power tends to corrupt,” adding, “Absolute power corrupts absolutely.” Although most of the other elected members outside of the star chamber of collusion aren’t cut from the same cloth, and to meekly suggest otherwise is another diversionary tactic deployed by those so tightly gripped around the throat by cognitive dissonance that the blood supply to their brains has been cut off.
Could this scenario ever occur, especially within a mature democracy that contains the constitutional checks and balances that protect its citizens from despots? Our democracies are fragile, fragmented and flawed. Why can I make this assertion with confidence? Because we all are, and this beautiful scheme of living is only as secure and sincere as the small band of representatives that we choose to govern us. Politics isn’t an abstract ideology – it’s how we want to live and what we stand for. As Winston Churchill said, “It has been said that democracy is the worst form of government except all the others that have been tried.”
Never take it for granted that true democracy, delivered by honest politicians, is something that we deserve or just happens. Collectively we should seek to pull the strings of those in power, but you can only join in if you vote and take back control on behalf of the electorate. Otherwise, you are just a puppet and an insignificant muppet.
The question is – who is pulling your strings?
© Ian Kirke 2022 & uncredited photograph
Title photograph by Ehimetalor Akhere Unuabona on Unsplash
Twitter @ianjkirke