truth

On Lying

pinocchioIs there a continuum for lying? Perhaps the “little white lie” that saves someone from humiliation is on one end of the continuum. Perhaps lying for personal gain is on the other end. But how much personal gain? Is 10 million enough to make the lie egregious?

Our Right to Free Speech

“Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.” The First Amendment to the Constitution.

In the First Amendment to the Constitution, Congress gave the American people a gift. The Constitution allows us all to say our peace, even if it conflicts with our government. And embedded in that gift is the Fourth Branch of Government, defined by Wikipedia as “a group that influences the three branches of government defined in the American Constitution (legislative, executive and judicial). Such groups can include the press (an analogy for the Fourth Estate), the people, and interest groups.”

The Press. The Fourth Estate.

By the law of our Constitution, they can report even news that is in direct conflict, or is inflammatory toward our government. They can investigate and break stories to the American people that influence our attitudes about the government. (more…)

Truth

There is a discussion on LinkedIn titled “As a Leader, do you hear less of the truth from your team?”  As I am writing this, there are 105 responses.  I have been seeing this on my weekly feed for some time, and each time I see it, it bothers me.  Perhaps it’s time to explore why.

revive truthFundamentally I am bothered by a sense that truth is growing more and more elusive.  We certainly have a few negative role models for truth in leadership these days, if you follow newspapers and business journals.  I had high hopes that the escapades of the likes of Enron, Arthur Andersen and others in the early 2000s might be a wake-up call to the world that we live in, that acting illegally has material consequences.  Not so much.

In the musical Wicked, Elphaba accuses the Wizard of lying to the people of Oz.  He pipes back, “Where I come from, we believe all sorts of things that aren’t true. We call it history.”  Well, that’s disturbing, but probably not too far from the truth.

In today’s world, we call it “spin.” (more…)