Sunday 22 May 2011

Sunday Mornings: Coffee, Reflections and Music

Let's be clear about Donald Trump's decision to bow out of the presidential race. I don't buy his "I need to spend more time with my business empire" line. I sincerely believe that his change of direction only came when 'The Donald' bought a proper mirror recently and for the first time in years, he took a long and hard look at himself on it. He freaked out. Got the shock of his life. I mean, have you seen the guy's barnet? It defies logic, let alone gravity.

Alternatively, we could say that Obama's latest double slam dunk trumped the Trumpster. First the White House's incumbent produced his long-coveted birth certificate. And on top of that he even showed a clip of the moment when he first came into this world to a jam-packed audience at the recent correspondents' dinner. Actually, no, that was just a scene from 'The Lion King'. But, heck, these days, guys like Donald will believe anything.

The second blow to DT's presidential aspirations, was Bin Laden's death. Just as Obama's ratings were on the slide, into the picture steps the most wanted terrorist on earth and voilà, as if boosted by a shot of political Viagra, up go the points. I imagine a conversation between Obama and Trumpsie where the former tells the latter: "Take that, buddy, that's how you win back voters. And here's my barber's number. Don't worry, it's on me."

This whole birth certificate issue, though, is not to be scoffed at. Reading recently a terrific essay on lies in Prospect magazine by the philosopher Julian Baggini, I realised how gullible we, human beings, can be sometimes and how far the consequences of a well-fabricated lie can reach. I also came to the conclusion, like Baggini, I think, that being mendacious is part of our DNA, a trait that occasionally comes to our aid in difficult situations. An uncomfortable truth, I know, but a truth, nonetheless.

Baggini doesn't just write about lying, but also about authenticy. If telling porkies is complex, he avers, so is truth. At some point he states that "I could promise right now to tell the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth. The problem is that sometimes telling the truth is not the point, telling the whole truth is impossible, and there may be things other than the truth that matter too." That's why Obama refused to be part of the birth certificate charade. Because it wasn't about convincing US citizens that he was one of them, but not wanting to become an easy target for the Republicans. First, it's the certificate, and then, what else? Show us proof that Sasha and Malia are your real daughters? Even with Bin Laden dead, the opposition still wants to see the photos. This is not about verisimilitude, but about scapegoating.

Julian provides plenty of good examples of how truth and lies cohabit in modern society. There's the 'estate agent truth', a concept with which some of us will be familiar. The 'expert' highlights the property's virtues, whilst keeping its flaws well hidden. I particularly liked Bagginni's explanation about the existence of two codes when dealing with the law: a legalistic one and a moral one. What is remarkable is that, away from the courts, in real life we still prefer to use the legalistic way of thinking more often than we'd like to believe. Again, this is the bane of politicians everywhere: what am I permitted to say and how will it affect my career?

Where I disagree with Julian is in his defense of Bill Clinton. Baggini writes "That helps explain why one of the most famous 'lies' of recent decades is not a lie at all, but objectionable nonetheless: Bill Clinton’s famous 'I did not have sexual relations with that woman, Miss Lewinsky.' As many people have pointed out, to a Southern Baptist, this could indeed be interpreted as being strictly true. 'Sexual relations' is, in many parts, a euphemism for coitus, not any other sexual acts between two people. If this is so, then Clinton was accurate only in the legal sense, not in Williams’s",

Er... well, no. Clinton was the president of the US of A. He was not just accountable to voters in Arkansas but also to the American electorate as a whole. What he did in the White House with Monica 'Blue Dress' Lewinsky was sex. Whether it was just petting, oral intercourse, or full-blown-on-the-desk coitus, it was sex. He wasn't just being insincere, he lied.

However, I do agree with Julian that that there are a number of reasons why lying is not always wrong and why telling always the truth can get us in trouble. Can you imagine one of the contestants in the US Apprentice pointing at Donald Trump's quiff and shouting out: You, unruly, rebellious tuft. You are not part of the team. In fact, you've let the team down, or rather left it behind. I'm sorry, but, you're fired!

© 2011

Next Post: ‘Living in a Bilingual World’, to be published on Wednesday 25th May at 11:59pm (GMT)



14 comments:

  1. This is quite a combination you have here: Trump's do, a President's sexual duplicity, and OBL'S demise. And what do they all have in common? Politics! I remind myself frequently that the "noise" of politics is the price we pay for the freedom of discourse and even democracy. But sometimes my shoulders sag and I sigh. I remember Rodney King's famous cry "Why can't we all get along?" Indeed. I would add, get along in a civil manner.

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  2. I agree with Judith. You've given us quite a complex web to think about with lies, truth and politics. To be honest, I always wondered why Obama didn't just show the damn long form when the topic first came up before he even became president. With all the distrust in the white house, it seems to make sense to me just to lay at rest those fears. But what you say here makes good sense, when would it end? They would want to see his daughter's certificates, his wife's, people would move on to the next thing... I'm so frustrated with the political system right now. Anyway, fantastic post, my friend! Really appreciate your thoughts on this.

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  3. Ah, your usual Sunday reverie, the good, the bad, the ugly and a touch of music to render them all human. Brilliant.

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  4. Many thanks for your kind comments. Indeed, politics is pretty much art of this nauseating mix of sex, lies and... occasioanal videotapes, or Twits, as they're more commonly revealed nowadays.

    Thanks for your feedback.

    Greetings from London.

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  5. There are lies, there are damn lies and then, there's politics! An excellent essay which ties together many threads - more threads than Trump has hairs (IMHO). I suspect that he looked at his marital record, his dubious financial dealings and realized that he really didn't have a chance to get past first base in a political campaign. Or maybe his hair ruff informed him of some painful truths. As far as Obama's birth certificate goes, I understood completely why he didn't want to play along with the blame/racism game of the far right. Where would it end? On the other hand, I am glad that it was finally produced - not that it put an end to the nutters demands and speculations. But it certainly knocked the wind out of them for a while. Clinton - ah, what can I say? I suspect that anybody cornered as he was and with as much to lose as he did, would lie. When confronted with facts of adultery, how many of us would voluntarily confess? It's a shame that his affair consumed so much time and so much money while more important government issues were swept aside. But I wonder if that's not always been the case - look at the king's mistress and ignore his empty coffers?

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  6. More noise. The word that comes to mind would be 'doublespeak' or Orwell's 'Newspeak'.
    etc etc..call it what you like it's POLITICS.

    H

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  7. Trump: a fool. Beats me how a clown like that gets so much press.

    Give me our President's close-cut any time.

    Warm greetings from South Beach

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  8. Many thanks for your kind comments.

    Greetings from London.

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  9. I thought the whole thing with the birth certificate was ridiculous. I am in the same generation as President Obama and I tell you that you cannot get an exact copy of the birth certificate anymore. All they issue is an abstract and you definitely pay for that. I'm glad the controversy is over-for now anyhow.

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  10. I can’t say I’m mourning the loss of Trump from the race. What a fiasco. The logic was self-promotion and advertising. It’s nice to have a leader for once who we can admire both for his world improving politics and his boring personal life. The good news is it looks like no one can beat Obama. Yeah!

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  11. I'm just shaking my head. At my country, at the farcical aspect of it. The tragicomedy -- the human race.

    Oy.

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  12. Thanks for your kind feedback.

    Greetings from London.

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  13. I never thought Trump ever intended to actually run for president. It was just a publicity stunt to get people to watch his show. I mean, why would he run for president and then be obliged to actually do something of importance? That's just not his style.

    Regarding Bill Clinton, I never gave a damn who he had sex with. That was between him, his wife, and whoever the third party happened to be. I just wish it hadn't hurt Al Gore in 2000 the way it did.

    Jai

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  14. Bill did Gore in, didn't he? You're right. I don't think he meant it, but... 8 years of Bush. That's the price WE ALL paid. :-(

    Thanks for your comment.

    Greetings from London.

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