Compelled to lie

To whom do we lie?  We lie to out enemies because they're our enemies.  We lie to our allies because we desire to protect our own interest first.  We lie to strangers because we want to seem more than we are.

Many lies are inconsequential.  You look great in that.  I'd be thrilled to.  Please, you go first.  No harm, no foul.

Then there are lies that that cause damage.  Wells Fargo creating insurance policies for uninformed customers and damaging credit and repossessing vehicles due to that act.  ExxonMobil denying climate change while their CEO, Rex Tillerson, uses a pseudonym to exchange emails concerning dealing with climate change. 

There are also lies which seem to have no purpose other than self-aggrandizement.  The result of any category of lies is a loss of trust.  This may not mean a lot amongst those with a limited relationship or common interests.  However, as the magnitude of influence, authority, and power increases so do the consequences of lying and the resulting lack of trust.

When the liar is the President of the United States I find that to be a basis for concern.  I am not talking about spin or policies I perceive to be contrary to the interest of the U.S. and the world.  He tells lies that seem to have no other purpose than to be identified as such.  I acknowledge I will be lied to and it's not even that disturbing, generally.  The thing that chaps my hide is to be told a lie that requires I be an idiot to believe. 

Here's a few for you to peruse.  On Monday, just 2 days ago,  President Trump said Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto had called him to praise his migration policy.  The foreign ministry of Mexico, however, denied the claim of a phone call.  President Donald Trump told the Wall Street Journal that after his controversial speech at the Boy Scouts National Jamboree in West Virginia, the head of the Boy Scouts called him and told him it was the greatest speech that was ever made to them.  The Chief Scout Executive of the BSA actually said  "I want to extend my sincere apologies to those in our Scouting family who were offended by the political rhetoric that was inserted into the jamboree,".   “We’re the highest-taxed nation in the world.” (We're not, we're about 19th on individuals). 

These are lies because they are willfully spoken untruths.  Their only purpose is to mislead you and promote him.  Evidently, the President of the United States thinks you are stupid AND that his position is actually that of a television host whose purpose is to garner ratings.

We are a nation at risk (Russia, N. Korea, ISIS) and the current President is incapable of being honest.  Our enemies will exploit this character trait and our allies will be unable to counter it.

Even if lying as President is not a high crime nor misdemeanor, which could be addressed by impeachment, it can and should be subject to the 25th amendment, section 4,  Whenever the Vice President and a majority of either the principal officers of the executive departments or of such other body as Congress may by law provide, transmit to the President pro tempore of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives their written declaration that the President is unable to discharge the powers and duties of his office, the Vice President shall immediately assume the powers and duties of the office as Acting President.

You may ask why would I be so upset over 3 little lies?  I have 115 examples of this compulsion and rebuttals to his statements since his inauguration.   These are not random acts of misspeaking.  He lied about the freakin' Boy Scouts of America. 

Whaduyathink?