You may be surprised to hear that lying is running rampart in Washington and environs. It’s true. In fact, it has surpassed baseball as the national pastime. (That’s a lie. We all know pickleball is the national pastime.)
Lying goes way back in Washington. George Washington, for whom the city was named, cut down a cherry tree. Right? Wrong, it was a lie. A minister and writer named Mason Locke Weems included the story in a biography of our first president to promote the idea that Washington was a mythical hero much greater than he was … and to sell a lot of books.
In some circles even today, some scholars say that the fact that old George was our first president is a lie. John Hanson, a representative from Maryland, was elected President of the United States by Congress in 1781, followed by eight more gentlemen who held the position until the Constitution was completed in 1789, when Washington was elected unanimously.
The lie about Washington’s wooden teeth (they were actually made from human, cow and horse teeth. Ugh!) was perpetuated by journalists for reasons that remain unknown. Another group who, if you believe today’s politicians, are even bigger liars than they are.
Lying is ingrained in the culture of our nation’s capital. Even the White House lies. Imagine that. Every year, a giant white bunny shows up at the annual Easter Egg Roll. Come on man! No bunny rabbit is that big. It’s not nice to fool little kids.
Abraham Lincoln knew about liars. He said, “You can fool all of the people some of the time; you can fool some of the people all of the time, but you can’t fool all of the people all the time.” Politicians have been ignoring old Abe’s advice ever since. They all say, “I will lower taxes, eliminate poverty and drain the swamp.” Really? One person can’t do that alone. A little critical thinking goes a long way in sniffing out lies. You don’t have to be in Washington to hear a politician lie his or her way into office. When was the last time you heard a local politician say they would not run for a second term?
Wasn’t it P.T. Barnum who said, “there is a sucker born every minute”? No, that’s another lie. A banker named David Hannum, another conman, lied when he a claimed a “giant” body he owned was a petrified man. He must surely be the patron saint of politicians.
Then there is the biggest lie of all, the one about the jolly guy with a white beard who wears a red suit and shows up in December bearing gifts. I know that’s not true. When I was a little kid, I once saw him placing gifts under our Christmas tree. He wore grey pants, a white shirt and glasses. No beard. If that wasn’t true, even my mom lied. Moms don’t lie. Right?
Politicians have taken over the mantle of top-notch liars, but let’s face it, we all lie occasionally. You do and so do I … well you do. Have you ever said, “The check is in the mail” or “It’s great to see you” when you don’t mean it? I’ve said that to politicians I’ve met. How about “I love it” when you get a gift you can’t stand? Washington doesn’t have a corner on lying. It is in the fabric of our America, and it is here to stay. And that’s the truth.
Editor’s note: Mattapoisett resident Dick Morgado is an artist and retired newspaper columnist whose musings are, after some years, back in The Wanderer under the subtitle “Thoughts on ….” Morgado’s opinions have also appeared for many years in daily newspapers around Boston.
Thoughts on…
By Dick Morgado