Lies and, well, more lies: A modern day scourge

Rumor mongering has long been a treasured practice among human beings.  It has long been a hallowed practice in justifying wars (remember Gulf of Tonkin or Hitler's rationale for invading Czechoslovakia or for that matter the rationale for the Iraq invasion). 

Every day most of us will receive at least one email that is forwarded by a friend or loved one that suggests one thing or another is true, so beware.  Remember Sarah Palin's "death panels."  Or, that Saddam Hussein was somehow involved in 9-11, and thus a rationale for invasion.  [I will say that though I opposed the invasion of Afghanistan you could make a logical rationale for it, as the Taliban were harboring Al Qaeda].  Now we've got huge numbers of people believing that President Obama is both a Muslim (18% of Americans and 41% of Republicans) and that he is foreign born (birther movement).  Instead of sharing a bit of biblical wisdom this morning, I'd like to share a few proverbs from that great American humorist Mark Twain:

The glory which is built upon a lie soon becomes a most unpleasant incumbrance. How easy it is to make people believe a lie, and how hard it is to undo that work again!

- Mark Twain in Eruption

Yes, that is the danger of building a premise upon a lie -- it's hard to undo.

And then there's this one, though apparently it's never been verified and may be the product of the Baptist preacher of yore, Charles Spurgeon.  Either way, its's a great line for the modern day, as blogs, emails, facebook, and twitter can pass along the lies faster than the truth can get in a word edgewise!

A lie can travel halfway round the world while the truth is putting on its shoes.

Let's help the truth catch up a bit, shall we!