Why lying is more and more obstructing democracy

It used to be that preachers kept the People quiet by lying at them. Marx, therefore, called religion opium for the people. Monumental churches and much talk of Hell and eternal damnation kept most people in check. But it’s not just secularization that created a need for more lies in politics.

Daily common lies have progressed from UFO sightings and the idea the government is looking out for you to idolizing public figures (thank you Hollywood) and dark conspiracy theories ruling the day. But why?

Democracy used to be one-man-one-vote, slaves, women, minors, the poor excluded. Why ask someone who can’t read or write their opinion?

Let stupid, poor, second-class creatures decide what the country should do? They would outnumber the sophisticated elite and would vote them out of money and power. The elites never agreed to what we now call democracy. But slowly, democracy became what it never set out to be.

The poor wanted the right to vote. It wasn’t a problem if you told them what to vote for and that it’s all very complicated. The women wanted to vote. It wasn’t a problem as long as most women believed that they should vote like their husbands if they wanted peace in the home. And which woman didn’t want peace at home? Then Blacks were allowed to vote. They got the same treatment as the poor. And, new tricks were invented.

Talk of enemies helped gather in taxes and protect the rich. There were internal villains and international enemies. If push came to shove, wars were organized — to profit from weapons sales and to ‘unite the nation.’

Charisma was a good trick. If a speaker was able to rile up the masses, he could effectuate anything that keeps the elites in power. A supreme trick was elitists saying that they were for the commoner. It confused enough people. Socialistic parties tried the same, saying that they would also help the more wealthy voters. Lying became an important political tool.

Then it got worse. Politicians started saying anything to stay in power. Lies piled on lies. No falsehood was too big. Most people are gullible enough. So, when honest people contradicted the lies, they were called liars.

The media, always a tool of the establishment, now protested the lies but then were called the enemy of the People. No fact was holy anymore.

A classy trick was a refusal to limit self-defeating excess liberalism. So, addictions, guns for mass murder, voting for anti-democrats became OK.

And this all, because the elite needs to keep onto its money. They grow up with the notion that if their money would be gone, so would their decency, importance, even very physical survival.

Dictators around the world laughed at the ‘failure’ of democracy. Yet, it’s not failing. It’s being so successful (trying to reach equality and fairness) that the rich try anything not to disappear in the crowd. These are the last attempts to keep democracy just a pretense. These attacks on truth, equality, and democracy show that we are on the brink of a better society. A world that doesn’t center around anti-depressants-swallowing few.

Junta leaders and their admirers are as delusional and antiquated as elites in democracies. They expect to expand their powers but they’re on their way out. They might turn ugly when they start realizing their exaggerated privileges are close to over. But, We the People can be confident that the end of unfair, exploitive, inhumane, crippling society is near, as reported.

Then, hospitals will try to heal everyone; not just experiment on everyone to only save the rich. Then, no more money will be scraped from the poor. Everyone will be able to get a fair and satisfying life. Then, gone will be the notion of more important leaders vs. lesser followers that need to obey.

Beyond the current mess, the future looks promising. Hang in there. It will get better. For everyone, even the rich. Try to survive while working for a better future. So you’ll see the fruits of your labor and justice being done.

A reminder of the above points:

● Stay hopeful and an activist.
● Refuse to believe that any powerless group is less good/valuable.
● Discourage nationalism and chauvinism.
● Ban all lies from your lips.
● Work against self-defeating excess liberalism.
● Insist on a fair and satisfying life for everyone.
● Be vocal about non-democracies vying for world domination.

About the Author

MM is a prolific and creative writer and thinker, previously a daily blog contributor to the TOI. He often makes his readers laugh, mad, or assume he's nuts—close to perfect blogging. He's proud that his analytical short comments are removed both from left-wing and right-wing news sites. None of his content is generated by the new bore on the block, AI. * As a frontier thinker, he sees things many don't yet. He's half a prophet. Half. Let's not exaggerate. Or not at all because he doesn't claim G^d talks to him. He gives him good ideas—that's all. MM doesn't believe that people observe and think in a vacuum. He, therefore, wanted a broad bio that readers interested can track a bit what (lack of) backgrounds, experiences, and educations contribute to his visions. * This year, he will prioritize getting his unpublished books published rather than just blog posts. Next year, he hopes to focus on activism against human extinction. To find less-recent posts on a subject XXX among his over 2000 archived ones, go to the right-top corner of a Times of Israel page, click on the search icon and search "zuiden, XXX". One can find a second, wilder blog, to which one may subscribe too, here: https://mmvanzuiden.wordpress.com/ or by clicking on the globe icon next to his picture on top. * Like most of his readers, he believes in being friendly, respectful, and loyal. However, if you think those are his absolute top priorities, you might end up disappointed. His first loyalty is to the truth. He will try to stay within the limits of democratic and Jewish law, but he won't lie to support opinions or people when don't deserve that. (Yet, we all make honest mistakes, which is just fine and does not justify losing support.) He admits that he sometimes exaggerates to make a point, which could have him come across as nasty, while in actuality, he's quite a lovely person to interact with. He holds - how Dutch - that a strong opinion doesn't imply intolerance of other views. * Sometimes he's misunderstood because his wide and diverse field of vision seldomly fits any specialist's box. But that's exactly what some love about him. He has written a lot about Psychology (including Sexuality and Abuse), Medicine (including physical immortality), Science (including basic statistics), Politics (Israel, the US, and the Netherlands, Activism - more than leftwing or rightwing, he hopes to highlight reality), Oppression and Liberation (intersectionally, for young people, the elderly, non-Whites, women, workers, Jews, LGBTQIA+, foreigners and anyone else who's dehumanized or exploited), Integrity, Philosophy, Jews (Judaism, Zionism, Holocaust and Jewish Liberation), the Climate Crisis, Ecology and Veganism, Affairs from the news, or the Torah Portion of the Week, or new insights that suddenly befell him. * Chronologically, his most influential teachers are his parents, Nico (natan) van Zuiden and Betty (beisye) Nieweg, Wim Kan, Mozart, Harvey Jackins, Marshal Rosenberg, Reb Shlomo Carlebach, and, lehavdil bein chayim lechayim, Rabbi Dr. Natan Lopes Cardozo, Rav Zev Leff, and Rav Meir Lubin. This short list doesn't mean to disrespect others who taught him a lot or a little. One of his rabbis calls him Mr. Innovation [Ish haChidushim]. Yet, his originalities seem to root deeply in traditional Judaism, though they may grow in unexpected directions. In fact, he claims he's modernizing nothing. Rather, mainly basing himself on the basic Hebrew Torah text, he tries to rediscover classical Jewish thought almost lost in thousands of years of stifling Gentile domination and Jewish assimilation. (He pleads for a close reading of the Torah instead of going by rough assumptions of what it would probably mean and before fleeing to Commentaries.) This, in all aspects of life, but prominently in the areas of Free Will, Activism, Homosexuality for men, and Redemption. * He hopes that his words will inspire and inform, and disturb the comfortable and comfort the disturbed. He aims to bring a fresh perspective rather than harp on the obvious and familiar. When he can, he loves to write encyclopedic overviews. He doesn't expect his readers to agree. Rather, original minds should be disputed. In short, his main political positions are among others: anti-Trumpism, for Zionism, Intersectionality, non-violence, anti those who abuse democratic liberties, anti the fake ME peace process, for original-Orthodoxy, pro-Science, pro-Free Will, anti-blaming-the-victim, and for down-to-earth, classical optimism, and happiness. Read his blog on how he attempts to bridge any tensions between those ideas or fields. * He is a fetal survivor of the pharmaceutical industry (https://diethylstilbestrol.co.uk/studies/des-and-psychological-health/), born in 1953 to his parents who were Dutch-Jewish Holocaust survivors who met in the largest concentration camp in the Netherlands, Westerbork. He grew up a humble listener. It took him decades to become a speaker too, and decades more to admit to being a genius. But his humility was his to keep. And so was his honesty. Bullies and con artists almost instantaneously envy and hate him. He hopes to bring new things and not just preach to the choir. * He holds a BA in medicine (University of Amsterdam) – is half a doctor. He practices Re-evaluation Co-counseling since 1977, is not an official teacher anymore, and became a friendly, powerful therapist. He became a social activist, became religious, made Aliyah, and raised three wonderful kids. Previously, for decades, he was known to the Jerusalem Post readers as a frequent letter writer. For a couple of years, he was active in hasbara to the Dutch-speaking public. He wrote an unpublished tome about Jewish Free Will. He's a strict vegan since 2008. He's an Orthodox Jew but not a rabbi. * His writing has been made possible by an allowance for second-generation Holocaust survivors from the Netherlands. It has been his dream since he was 38 to try to make a difference by teaching through writing. He had three times 9-out-of-10 for Dutch at his high school finals but is spending his days communicating in English and Hebrew - how ironic. G-d must have a fine sense of humor. In case you wonder - yes, he is a bit dyslectic. If you're a native English speaker and wonder why you should read from people whose English is only their second language, consider the advantage of having an original peek outside of your cultural bubble. * To send any personal reaction to him, scroll to the top of the blog post and click Contact Me. * His newest books you may find here: https://www.amazon.com/s?i=stripbooks&rh=p_27%3AMoshe-Mordechai%2FMaurits+van+Zuiden&s=relevancerank&text=Moshe-Mordechai%2FMaurits+van+Zuiden&ref=dp_byline_sr_book_1