A somewhat different example of lying can be found with Gilles (Duceppe) with his political party called the Bloc Quebecois (a translation in English would be something along the lines the "combined common front of our culture", so if we had a world parliament and many different political parties, someone from the US could have one called the American Front political party). The rationale for the name helps you understand what they are all about, they do not promote one side of the political left-right ideological spectrum or the other; instead, they promote the culture of the Quebecois and make decisions that support this cultural view of doing things. For someone who is used to a more traditional left/right view of the world it becomes a little confusing to see a regional political party who does not concern itself with regions outside its home-region. Opponents who don't want to think or want to use rhetoric as a weapon against them just write them off as "seperatists who want to destroy Canada". This prejudice actually fuels their existance and they use this prejudice to gather support for their cause. The reality is that this political party promotes the sovereignty of their cultural identity so that it has nationhood status, they are willing to go as far as seperating themselves from Canada if they need to, but they have the secret desire in their hearts to have something similar to what the European Union have.... and they want to unite with Canada on that basis.....
Whether or not this is practical or even possible is not the focus of this particular blog but I do need to put a bit of context so that we can understand Gilles and his political party's agenda. If you can understand that they are not anti-Canadian but merely pro-Quebecois, then you are closer to appreciate their thoughts even if you don't necessarily agree with them.... (I prefer to believe that it is better to understand before you disagree).
The previous two blogs showed lies involving rhetoric in politics. If you remember Stephane was self-contradicting himself by claiming that action X was innapropriate and that he would never do action X but his method of informing us that his opponent had done action X against him was using X as an action.... (two thieves rob the same store and the first one publicly denounces the second thief and then accuses the second thief of disloyalty when the second one claims partnership with the first). Then if you remember the second blog where Jack was using a known moral flaw to drum up support for a decision which would inevitably promote the moral flaw.... (someone tells you that cavities are bad news because you have to suffer through a dentist's office to fill them up so the solution is to avoid the dentist and ask the dentist to please leave). Remember that these lies can be found in ANY political party and unfortunately these lies actually help them to get support because they sound so confident when they use them that most don't bother to actually analyze what was actually said.... (packaging is more important than the product found inside).
For Gilles, the example I will use here is his rhetoric on statistics and how his rhetoric conveniently changes when the statistical results show a new result. This is based upon memory, so if somehow I am wrong, don't worry, I am certain you have seen someone in politics use this very illustration. On one Federal election result, the Bloc Quebecois had lost many seats and many self-proclaimed experts were saying their wishful fantasies that said that the Bloc Quebecois was finally on its way out. Gilles' political party were less powerful in the Parliament than before. What did Gilles say about this? Gilles said that what was important was that he had the majority of the votes within Quebec and that was what was important, the statistics showed that more people voted for this political party within Quebec compared to all the other parties.... To illustrate, let me use an example:
Zone 1--> Party A has 8 votes, Bloc has 7 votes.
Zone 2--> Party B has 8 votes, Bloc has 7 votes.
Total seats-->Party A-->1 seat, Party B-->1 seat, Bloc-->zero seats.
Total votes-->Party A-->8 votes, PartyB-->8 votes, Bloc-->14 votes.
percent seats vs percent votes-->
Party A-->50% vs 27% (approx)
Party B-->50% vs 27% (approx)
Bloc------> 0% vs 46% (approx)
So using these figures, you can see how the popular vote goes to the Bloc yet they have no seats in this particular example. So Gilles points out the statistical facts and uses this to justify doing X or Y in his actions. He has the unofficial majority so that is what is important and that is why he will do what he chooses to do.
Well that's fine and dandy for him, but guess what? The latest elections gives a reversal of fortune for Gilles and his political party. Gilles now has more seats than anyone else in Quebec, but the statistics show that he is quite low in the popular vote. Gilles changes his tune without batting an eyelid.... His argument becomes: "this democracy functions on the basis of the one who has the most seats so that is what is important and that is why he will do what he chooses to do."
Does that not seem inconsistent? Now anyone who thinks this example or the previous two blogs does not show anything wrong and that is the nature of the beast in politics.... Remember, I am not pointing out the immorality of the lie, just pointing out that it is a lie, an inconsistency in rational thinking.... the nature of rhetoric which fuels our democratic debates and our electoral processes. To function well, one must learn to lie well. The morality issue of these actions are not yet brought to the forefront, just illustrations of what is being done and applying the definition of what a lie is and seeing an equal sign between the definition and the actual actions described. If the reader is not shocked and sees this as normal state of operations.... then may I suggest that he has been acclimated to this form of lying.
The reason I state all of this is because, most won't believe that there are lies within the system or that one must be a skillful liar to succeed in our political system so I demonstrate examples, then these same people who would say that there are no lies, will then admit that these examples do in fact show lies but that they are ok-lies. This then becomes a new debate, which lies are ok and which are objectionable? Some are cynical and just assumes everything is a lie so they wish to throw out the baby with the bathwater and they won't bother paying attention to any examples because they already think they know them all and will refuse to see the cases where someone is being truthful. (Both extremes are unfortunate, one must admit that lies happen in this field not believe that there are no lies or that everything is a lie) When we have reached the middle ground and accept that lies do in fact happen, we can then wonder and ask ourselves if this is "normal" and desirable or whether or not something should be done to avoid it or to encourage more scrutiny.
It is always easier to see theft in the economic system because it is tangible and someone is being cheated out of something or other.... whether it be a product or one's time or anything else measurable, theft is easier to determine. The lie within the political system is much harder to ascertain and if there is a discoverable lie, we then have to judge the intent of the one who delivered it, was it deliberate or accidental? If the morality itself of the lie is under question, it brings a new dimension in its detection. So my examples of lying can always be discounted as just part of the game much like hockey has its share of fistfights on the ring.... We don't want our children to imitate the big leagues but we enjoy the occasional bash we see in the big leagues. What I may be aiming for is to have us concentrate in our metaphorical hockey game to promote skating and puck handling to succeed in getting goals instead of accepting or glorifying the metaphorical fistfights (the rhetoric, the lies).
Part of our problem in our society may be this acceptance of the lie within our political sphere as well as the acceptance of the theft within our economic sphere. First step is to recognize it when it happens..... not ignore it and not be cynical either (both are in a bubble world, one is more pleasant than the other but they are both being lulled to inaction).
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