Throughout history there has been an overlooked question and this is “What effect did lies have on events?”  Many wars have started because of a lie. Perhaps the person with the most expertise was Adolph Hitler’s Reich Minister for Public Enlightenment and Propaganda, Joseph Goebbels. For twelve years he told one lie after another and for most of those years most Germans believed them. He may have originated the term the “Big Lie”. He said a lie becomes more believable the more often it is repeated. Today in our country that practice is being repeated almost every day.

            The obvious question is how now and then can people “Believe” something they should know is a lie? President Donald Trump has told tens of thousands of subtle to the most outrageous lies. The most outrageous one is the one started by his boosters in the Oval Office when the results of the 2020 Presidential election were known. He couldn’t have lost so there must have been fraud. He latched on to it and told the lie thousands of times and may now actually believe it. After all the recounts by his supporters, he still tells the lie and millions of people believe it with hundreds of office holders repeating it.

            Today, President Trump listed several newspapers and television channels as liars because they were telling the truth against his lies. He will continue to harass the media for telling the truth. Remember the “Big Lie” requires repeating the lie to make it believable. The Media, however, moves on to another truth allowing the “Big Lies” to win over millions of gullible people.   

            The answer to the question is: the truth is a lie when it conflicts with a leader’s lie.