Our country has a long history with political lying. Various politicians have facilitated lies or attempted to avoid the truth when it comes to political campaigns, promises for the future, press conferences, or even relations with other countries. Currently, under the First Amendment, politicians do have the “right to lie” however, lying makes it difficult for citizens to make a free and informed decision about the matter concerned. I believe that politicians should be held to a higher standard for truth, due to the frequent dissemination of disinformation, issue of safety concerns, and lastly, the importance of abiding by a moral standard of truth.
A large majority of the public remains misinformed due to politician’s false claims. When a politician enters office, he/she will become a public figure in a sense that what he/she says has the ability to reach millions, whereas, a private citizen such as myself, does not have that same affect. Being able to touch the minds of so many people has its repercussions. For example, Jeb Bush has once stated, “Planned Parenthood is “not actually doing women’s health issues. They are involved in something way different than that.” This statement is utterly inaccurate in the sense that Planned Parenthood is deeply involved with various women’s health issues. However, many people will now have a misconstrued view or skepticism about Planned Parenthood because they refuse to do their own research or fact check statistics presented to them. Therefore, they go on believing these lies or false accusations that certain public figures may support.
The issue of safety also arises due to false claims being taken out of context. For example, Trump has once stated, “During the campaign as I’ve traveled all across this great country, I met with many American families whose loved ones, sons and daughters, husbands and wives, were viciously killed by illegal immigrants. Incredible. Incredible. These amazing American lives were stolen because our government refused to enforce our already-existing laws.” Clearly, stories like this exist; however, the vast majority of unauthorized immigrants do not fit Trump’s description of aggravated felons, whose crimes include murder. After seeing these claims, some individuals may take this out of context in a sense that they believe all immigrants are dangerous murderers. Some extremists may even set out to devise a plan in order to target or eliminate immigrants, or minority groups, simply because they believe that is the underlying message that Trump was trying to convey. The way people interpret others’ messages is subsequently unpredictable that no matter if the statement is true or false, people tend to take matters into their own hands, which at times, does risk put the public at risk. Typically, false statements made by politicians are the ones that raise the most suspicion, which can encourage dangerous or threatening actions completed by radical individuals or groups
When we’re lied to by people in power, it ruins our confidence in political figures; therefore, it makes the public very cynical about their real motivates. Lying can and certainly does serve a devious social purpose. It can help someone paint a better picture than the truth, or help a politician dodge an uncomfortable question. However, it’s unethical for a politician to be given a considerable amount of power, and then use that power to trick people into believing what they may facilitate to the public. A politician should be held at a higher standard for the simple fact that their responsibility is to inform the public. A citizen should not have to assume that this person who has been granted this position of power is conveying faulty information. Additionally, less trust in the government ultimately results in the inability to sustain a democracy.
Some may argue that requiring a politician to give up certain First Amendment protections challenges the political reason for freedom of speech. However, lying ultimately threatens our democratic government. When politicians insist on their own fabricated stories or facts, they are not allowing free and open discussions to take place. They are setting a standard for what is true, yet it may be completely false. Various statements made by politicians have caused divisions within society along the lines of gender, race, ethnicity, safety procedures, etc. On the other hand, an honest government and honest candidates would uphold the truth, which would ultimately lead to the greater possibility for open discussions.
Unfortunately, today there are no real sanctions against lying. Especially in the era of social media, lies have been known to circulate quickly, and travel deeper than the truth. The rise of the Internet has also made it more difficult to decipher one true media gatekeeper, making it easier for politicians to distort the truth. Morally, politicians should be held responsible for communicating the truth to the public. In order to reinstitute safety, or facilitate truthful information it must be made clear that the First Amendment does not protect political lies. In addition, emphasizing stricter regulations on political lying is one way to way to encourage better political behavior.
Works Cited
- Garver, R. (2015, December 21). The Top 10 Political Lies of the Year. Retrieved February 6, 2019, from https://www.thefiscaltimes.com/2015/12/21/Top-10-Political-Lies-Year
- 100 days of Trump claims. (n.d.). Retrieved February 6, 2019, from https://www.washingtonpost.com/graphics/politics/trumpclaims/?utm_term=.7b1b79c7f748
