Sometimes, I wish I could lie.
That does not sound right.
Yes, I can lie, but I am not a good liar.
And so, I wish I was more like those people who know how to lie. Specially the ones who lie while keeping a straight face.
Those who are so professional at lying that they don't flinch, sweat, twitch, or give themselves away in any visible way.
Do they teach that in school or in some Internet course I am not aware off?
Or is it a skill you learn at home, or a gift you're supposed to be born with…?
I'm not really sure, but I wish I understood more about them and how they do it.
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First among these liars, there are those who are good at lying to others.
They are dangerous, specially because they mostly lie in order to manipulate people or crowds.
These liars are proficient in a number smart tactics:
Telling lies that align with the messages their audience are eager to hear.
Divulging lies that blame others for the their listeners' faults and failures, freeing them from the consequences of their acts and even their personal guilt.
Promising the crowds things these liars know upfront they will not be able to provide. And most importantly
Repeating a lie so many times that people start accepting it, seeing it and feeling it as the rightful truth.
Professional deceivers can look and feel like Martial Arts experts…. Using the weaknesses, frights, and even the needs of their audience in order to convince them of their lies.
It's mind-boggling that with the help of manipulative tactics, liars are able to disregard logic, ignore decency and even defy reality in the pursue of their own benefit and for their own profit.
You don't need to be a rocket scientist to understand this category includes many Bullies, Politicians, "Influencers", and "People of Power" around the World.
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There are also the liars who lie to themselves. In my mind they are even worst because they cannot blame others for their own deceptions.
When someone lies to himself he does it in a number of disguises:
Positioning himself as the victim of an unjust system, incontrollable circumstance, or a streak of bad luck.
Convincing themselves they are doing "it" for the good of others and not for their personal gain.
Telling themselves that others are already doing this "semi-kosher" thing, and if he doesn't do it then someone else who is less deserving will surely do it instead.
Self-liars are internally sad and hollow people. They also end up causing harm to many more around them, usually those who are closer to them, the same ones who are looking to help them out as their family and friends.
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What's even more enraging about liars is that Joseph Goebbels, the Nazi propaganda genius from the 1930's and 1940's, explained it simply:
"Repeat a lie enough times and people will believe it."
Goebbels was a liar magician, a fabrication expert, and one of the biggest manipulators of all time. He was also central to the rise of Nazism. Today we know the harm his lies and his methods of spreading them did to the World at large.
The huge problem is that Goebbels was correct in his assumptions and accurate in his methods. Whether today's liars are willing to accept it or not, he ended up becoming the teacher of many manipulators all over the World.
These people currently appear in the news as Political Leaders, and sometimes even as Experts in their fields. They are implementing their methods of manipulation in order to gain power and use it for their own gains.
Just like the Nazis, liars are turning people with needs and dreams into enraged mobs. Destroying the work that took years and even decades to build.
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My hope, maybe even my prayer, is that in the end the truth will come out.
It may (it surely will!) take time and efforts, but people will understand they are being manipulated and will end up turning their anger and frustration against their Puppet-Masters.
It will not be a simple or a painless task.
Of course it is easier and quicker to follow a lie. But every deception ends up dissipating, once enough people realize it is nothing but a cheap trick of smoke and mirrors.
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