The “L” Word

Liar, liar,
Pants on fire,
Hanging from the telephone wire.

So goes the playground taunt favored by many third and fourth-graders.

No one died
When Clinton lied …

… So goes the bumper sticker popular during President George W. Bush’s second term.

You lie!

So goes the outburst from a certain congressman during President Obama’s recent health insurance reform address to a joint session of Congress.

——

Am I the only one who is tired of people throwing around the “L” word? In a nation that seems increasingly divided, it’s a near perfect rhetorical weapon. Once deployed, there’s no response that can get the discussion back on track.

In politics, this tactic certainly isn’t without precedent – see here, here and here, which just skims the surface.

More troublesome is that, given the shades of gray that are the reality of our discourse, there’s rarely a way to defend this sort of attack. Through careful phrasing, parsing and use of selective “facts” (which are frequently in question as well), arguments can be made on all sides that are technically accurate, but misleading nevertheless.

As a PR practitioner, I’m conflicted. While I can appreciate the value of a properly positioned message, there’s definitely a line that shouldn’t be crossed. My rule is that messages should be fair, not knowingly omit facts or information and otherwise stand up to the “sniff test.”

I don’t think I’m unlike members of our target audiences. Like them, mainly, I just want to be informed. I want all sides to be presented fairly, in a forum that doesn’t involve talking heads shouting over each other and declaring each side as displaying, as Winston Churchill once said, “terminological inexactitude.”

With the mood of the nation seemingly souring by the day, I’m sure we’ll hear that four letter word even more in the future. Like most things, all we can do is lead by example.

Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on 09/22 at 08:15 AM

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