An Untruth by Any Other Name

When is a lie not a lie? I was astounded to see a recent headline at Washington Post’s website that read: Democrats call for George Santos to resign seat over résumé ‘lies’. Why place the word ‘lies’ in quotes? In the case of Santos, there was no courtroom needed to prove his duplicity.

If we slap a label on a lie and call it an alternative fact, does that make it less of a fabrication? Maybe it becomes an innocent exaggeration, or “poor choice of words” like being Jew-ish. Perhaps Santos took a cue from former President Trump, whose lies were reported before the November, 2016 election. The bottom line: Santos constructed a list of things to claim in order to gain the approval of voters, truth be damned.

It appears Rep.-elect Santos will not resign and will be seated in Congress. Our Senators and Representatives might want to take a refresher course on truth in advertising. I suggest they adopt the Federal Trade Commission promises and broaden them to include the political arena: to protect the public from unfair or deceptive acts or practices and promote fair competition. Otherwise, my fear is the ethical bar will be lowered enough to get stuck there.