Living a lie? What societal lies bother you?

Am I the only one here who is getting tired of just how much hypocrisy there is in the world? I still remember a song from when I was a child. The lyrics went like this

"You tell one lie, it leads to another
So you tell two lies to cover each other
So you tell three lies... oh brother......."

I wanted to make a thread that discusses the lies that we perpetuate to maintain everyday life. The hypocrisy that people notice but just accept. I apologize in advance because this ends up being a bit of a rant. Feel free to chime in with any glaring lie in society that you think needs to be addressed.... or not.



[rant]
How can we function as a society when we are so deeply covered in lies that nothing can be trusted? What can we trust? The media? The government? The history books? The medical industry? The Justice System? Anything?

We (in the US) live in a country that is currently claiming to not torture, despite the glaring proof that we do, we have and we always will. We can't be honest and say look, we know that people disagree with torture but it is our policy and we will continue to do it. War is an ugly thing. Instead, we lie about it and confuse the issue. We can't address the issue because if we do, we have to admit the lies. Somehow this policy works. People end up arguing semantics while ignoring the issue.

We stand on a soap box and complain about human rights violations while we are fully decked out in clothes that were made in a sweat shop with child labor. People may complain but our blessed economy could not support goods that were made in an environmentally and human rights friendly manner. If China had to pay the labor laws and environmental laws that we do, Walmart would not exist. We then decide to speak our true intentions with our pocketbooks and say hey, Child Labor is fine so long as it isn't our children. You can destroy the environment if you like, as long as it isn't my back yard.

We go to the doctor to fix what ails us. So our doctor writes a prescription for a new drug that studies have shown to work well for our problem. Unfortunately, those studies were funded by the people who manufacture the drug and as it turns out... the reality is that it is actually quite bad for you and shouldn't even be consumed. But hey, the doctor gets his kickback, the pharmaceutical company remains profitable, their stock goes up and all is right in the world.

Politicians can steal millions from the people that they are elected to "serve"... and their punishment for such a blatant abuse of power and violation of trust? They don't get to serve another term. An average citizen shares 30 songs on a peer to peer network.... and what is their punishment? A life ruining fine and a mountain of legal fees. What is the difference here?

We can't talk about the double standard because we would have to acknowledge the lies. Instead we have to continue on, thinking what we are supposed to think, arguing amongst ourselves about non issues while the truth is buried beneath.

We think that we are free but we aren't. We are trapped in a system of lies that is designed to give us just enough freedom to keep us fooled, to keep us in line. There are two groups of people, the wealthy and the consumers. The wealthy make the rules. They perpetuate this system of lies in order to keep this social structure. Times really aren't any different than they have ever been. The disguise is just better now.


OK, the end of my rant. We'll see if this thread quietly fades away like my other rants tend to.....

Any lie that involves political correctness. I get tired of people saying what is currently popular or what they believe other people want to hear. Millions of people walking the streets pretending they are something other than what they truly are.... blending in... flying under the radar... too spineless to actually have an opinion. Do we really know anyone anymore? Is there such thing as authenticity? Or do we just hang with people that tell the same lies as 'we' do?

Sure I'm not talking about major lies here... they're all just little ones, but when you add them all up your left with a fictional world filled with fictional characters.

/rant off

IRM

Great post!! I have been thinking a lot lately about trust and lies which seem to go hand in hand. I honestly dont really trust anyone 100% anymore. It's hard to believe anything anymore when you know it's a lie and yet they want you to trust them. Trust IMO is to be earned not given. I watch the news and wonder what really happened that they are not telling us. Everything is a lie IMO lately.

The biggest lie that bothers me now is the touted transparancy of the current administration. Every thing is supposed to be above board and openly honest. Yet every thing we see this administration working toward is severe nationalization of business,being painted with a brush of politically correct lies. Even the President doesn't play by the rules he laid out. All his past has been securely locked away from inquiring minds,that is not very transparent is it?

Will President Obama ever stand up and let the people know who he really is,and what his real plans for our country are?

The only thing transparent are the lies!!!!

[edit on 3-6-2009 by daddyroo45]

reply to post by daddyroo45

The biggest lie that bothers me now is the touted transparancy of the current administration

You see, I think that the problem isn't isolated to our current administration. It is just a part of a larger lie. Who was the last president that was in office that was honest with the people? I can't think of one. They all have a different agenda than the one that they feed the people. They lie to us to earn trust and votes. This administration isn't special, they are just telling a different type of lie than the previous one.

let me help

its called fear

Fear to be who you are fear to admit you have feelings you wont tell anyone scared to let that little voice in your head do its job

the little thing we called earth is being run by people who wish to keep that voice in you head

and not free to express it..

what ever put us on this little rock did so for a reason SOMEONE or SOMETHING knows it and is using all your minds to get its own answers

the perpetual asking of pointless questions is the game we play

and if you want evidence of my statement, turn on your TV

that is poof


pointless entertainment... keep busy doing nothing why? well if you understand what the other side of the coin is you would not like it

But then if you admit what that flip side would in fact be.. the world would be a better place

listen to that burn inside its shouting and one day very soon its going to come out of all of you

"like a bat out of hell" shall we say and you are seeing the birth pangs of it right now

The lie of the false social construct as seen on TV, projected and recieved and accepted as if it's a reflection of the real world.

TV as a mass hypnosis tool of the elite - that I do not like, and so I don't watch, but it bothers me how many people are glued to the TV like zombies and who take their cues from it, unconsciously, and they can't help it either as it's been INJECTED into their lives since birth.

The TUBE!

I'm mad as hell
www.youtube.com...

Howard Beale: Turn off your TVs (MUST watch!)
www.youtube.com...

I think The worst lie is how we are all equal in the US. When with Affirmative Action, not really in the favor of whites, right? How about the government handouts? I can't get them but I busted MY BUTT working for the corporate hog. Why? Because I can't check off "Hispanic, African American, or Migrant worker" on the application, not really fair is it? How about not saying racist comments about them, yet they can call us white trash, redneck, cracker, and a miriad of others, is that fair? Or how Men get paid more than women, yet women's clothing and essentials are way higher priced? IS THAT FAIR. EQUALITY MY BIG LILY WHITE A**!!!

double post oops!

[edit on 4-6-2009 by ldyserenity]

reply to post by OmegaPoint


As i stated in another thread

I do not own a TV nor do i care for one.. its a load of tripe

and more so the information given is just to shape your mind and keep it in a box

What are we? really? nothing like what you see on the TV, NOTHING ...

and congrats on ridding your mind of TV

The lie that cannabis is harmful to the individual and that its addictive...
Bring it on flamers, I got stacks and stacks of jaw dropping info!!!

reply to post by sourdiesel


I would give you a warning to stay a bit clear of this topic and keep to the one at hand as drugs "or the promotion" of it is not in the in the interest of ATS and can result in a warn or post removal but i do understand your argument


But be careful in how you state your argument

[edit on 4-6-2009 by symmetricAvenger]

All I ask is that people do the research instead of falling back on preconceived notions, the MSM and DARE propaganda. And if you don't care to research it, that's your loss not mine.

reply to post by sourdiesel


I know all about it from experience. Glad I used to do it, glad I don't anymore. The only negative effect imho, is that it weakens the will and makes you not care, which can make you prone to other addictions like overeating, or smoking too much, drinking etc. That said, I think it's mind expanding and can open up new territory which someone might not otherwise get access to. Gives you the freedom to eschew normalcy and embrace a much more open minded and imaginative viewpoint.

Another instance of burying our heads in the sand that gets to me is this... We all want the best medicine that money can buy, yet we will not stand for testing on animals or humans. Since it would be financial suicide for a pharmaceutical company to even address the issue, they have to resort to poisoning the 3rd world with their research. As long as they are poisoning "those people" on the other side of the world, it is A-OK. Now, I don't have a solution for this but the current solution of simply pretending it doesn't happen isn't a good one either.

Heres a societal lie that bothers me.

When you reach High School things will change and you see things differently.

When you graduate school things will change and you'll see things differently.

When you turn 21 things will change and you'll see things differently.

When you turn 30 things will change and you'll see things differently.

WTFF!

In all me years I have not changed so drastically that I see things so differently as others have implied to me. People still fight over religion and politics despite the majority of the peoples unwillingness to civilly discuss those two sociological aspects of humanity. I still believe in Anarchy. I still believe that aging is a minor detail to the human experience that is over emphasized as some great equalizer or life changing event.

Time passes but people basically stay the same unless some psychological event changes them. The amount of time that has passed in ones life does not have nearly the same effect on a person as a death or a birth.

reply to post by Karlhungis


Hi Karl, hope you are well!
Most things bother me about the ideals of modern life.
The main gripes I have are:
1) the lie of Democracy
2) The lie of the 'Satanic Trinity' = judaism, Christainity, Islam.
3) the lie of the Monetary System.
4) The lie of government sanctioned multi-culturalism.
5) the lie of the Media
6) the lie of Western Medicine
LIES LIES LIES!!!!
Everything is untrue......except the things that after years of deliberation and personal experience, I have the intuitive knowledge and understanding to validate.

reply to post by titorite


Well, I have seen things differently as I have aged. Every year that goes by makes me realize just how F'd up the world is. I have much less faith in humanity now than I did when I was in High School.

reply to post by Karlhungis


Remember that part where I said I believe in Anarchy... I never had much faith to begin with...so to me the age thing is a societal lie.

SSDD you know that acronym? Life keeps on moving forward and only the faces and places change not the personalities... at least not in my experience.

Edit for modulation: STUFF the second S stands for stuff.

[edit on 9-6-2009 by titorite]

I hate how everyone gets all offended when I have a beer in the morning... I mean c'mon I spend my whole nights awake working, cant I have a beer to cool off?

Seriously, just pisses me off! I'm not an alcoholic, I dont drink 24/7, I probably have maybe 2 or 3 beers in a week. Whenever I have a beer in the morning at a restaurant or something people look at me like I've shot their kids with a 12 gauge! Then they go and walk past a couple where the woman is obviously being abused and dont even bat an EYE!!

ARGHHHHHHH!!!!!