"In the big lie there is always a certain
force of credibility; because the broad masses of a nation more readily fall
victims to the big lie than the
small lie, since they themselves often tell small lies in little matters but
would be ashamed to resort to large-scale falsehoods. It would never come into
their heads to fabricate colossal untruths, and they would not believe that
others could have the impudence to distort the truth so infamously. Even though
the facts which prove this to be so may be brought clearly to their minds, they
will still doubt and waver and will continue to think that there may be some
other explanation."
So wrote Adolf
Hitler in Mein Kampf: over the years
those words have evolved to become this maxim: "If you tell a lie long and loud enough , people will eventually start to believe it."
It
is considered the basis for all propaganda, and regrettably, a lot of what we
can expect politicians to say on the pitch.
We are told lies
and witness dishonest conduct on an all too regular basis from politicians and
business leaders, and if we like the leader or have previously supported him or
her we find it hard to acknowledge their betrayal of our trust.
But I have found
on my book tour across the United States for my book, No
Fear: A Whistleblower's Triumph, whether in New England, New York,
Washington D.C. or elsewhere, that there is a great thirst among Americans to
understand all the various forces in society and how they impact upon us.
A friend in
Boston commented that on the T during a recent morning trip every single person
in the rail carriage she was in was reading, most were reading books, less than
a handful had e-readers and she and one other were reading the newspaper. People are becoming tired of the trivia and
self-opinionated ramblings of many on television and radio they're searching
for answers and more and more are turning back to books.
Part of the
problem is that the news has become so contaminated by opinion and infotainment,
what on earth happened to simple fact?
Stop and reflect
awhile -- do you know what the three major issues are in your community? Do you know what the two top issues are in
your town or city? What about the three top issues in your state? The issues facing the country are too many to
list, but could you quickly recount the three top news stories this week? I bet you'll pause before listing each, it's
because the news has dumbed down over the last decade or two and it's made an
America that is more out of touch with itself and the world.
But what I have
found so far on the book tour was large audiences, 100 or 200 was the norm,
jammed into every space in a book store, cafà © or auditorium, people who
listened intently and asked thoughtful, clever questions. And it was clear from many of the questions
that people had garnered them from books, Americans are being tired of being
spoonfed baby food as news, they want real, thoughtful content.
People were
asking, how do we play a role in creating
the change we want to see?
It's a
challenging question and one I often turn back to the audience and ask for
their suggestions. I don't presume to
have the answers; what I hope for is constructive debate, and one where we
tolerate the views of those we like the least, where we really listen and try
to understand the motivation behind the question. There is arrogance and an intolerance that
has entered the political discourse in the United States that is harming us
all.
As we begin this
year with the Iowa caucus it's worth taking time to settle back and consider
the future you believe we deserve and your role in making it happen. This is a democracy it requires full
participation for success and perhaps that is why we see so much failure now, because
not enough of us are stepping up to the plate.
* Marsha
Coleman-Adebayo is an environmental consultant whose work saw the first
whistleblowing legislation of this century in the U.S.A., she is the author of No FEAR: A Whistleblower's Triumph Against
Corruption.
