The Power of Lies

"The more successfully someone lies, and the more people he convinces, the more chance he will end up believing in his own lies." These are the words of Hannah Arendt, who, according to Wikipedia,  was "a German-American historian and philosopher... one of the most influential political theorists of the 20th century." 

She died in 1975, not long after the Watergate scandal in the US. I cannot help wondering what she would have thought of the political scene today, not only in the US, but also over here. Because I can think of two particular blond-haired politicians, about whom her words are prescient...

According to my Concise Oxford Dictionary, the meaning of the word "politics" is "the science and art of government" and a "politician" is defined as "One skilled in politics, statesman; one interested or engaged in politics, esp. as profession." 

When I was a small child, sixty years ago, it seemed that most politicians were in politics for what they could give, not only for what they could get. They were required to have certain ethical standards, and if scandal attached to them, they were expected to resign. And I am sure that this is still true of some politicians - certainly a lot of good work gets done by House of Lords and House of Commons committees.

Yet sadly, it is a long time since I have trusted the word of most politicians. Many today, it seems, believe their own lies wholeheartedly. Take the climate change crisis as an example: the Paris Agreement was signed by most nations of the world in 2015 and yet, nine years later, we are little closer to doing anything much to mitigate the effects of our polluting, wasteful ways.

It can be hard to believe in the goodness of people sometimes, when so much evil is being done in our names. And when it seems we have little power or influence over the people who are supposed to be running the country "for us". I guess the least that any of us can do is to stand in our own integrity, stand up against the lies that many politicians tell, actively campaign for change, and try to make a positive difference in our own small corners of the world.