Lies, Fake News & Falsehoods

It seems that telling the truth is only something we do when we can no longer hide our falsehoods.  There are times when lies are useful – such as when doctors think it useful to conceal from a patient how ill they  truly are; or when a surprise is planned and a little white lie is appropriate to make the secret successful.

Very often our leaders and politicians get a pass on making irrational promises or reneging on commitments, without giving much forethought to the impracticality of their applications and don’t pay the consequences. Several frequent occurrences by sports organizations allowing athletes to break records while using steroids and concealing these facts for years,  is now creating concerns that call for investigations into our testing standards and dictate a definite need to question our moral values.

Deceitful marketing has long been a practIce of retailers who continue to advertise their goods at markdowns listed below false stated prices, giving the impression to customers that they are getting a discount.  It is hardly surprising then that fake news should rise to prominence now, and cause the reactions we are witnessing from people who assume these reports are credible. Conspiracy theories abound with spins on everything that emerges from the recent political campaign promises. Technology to check these stories, although it exists is not yet in place to weed out inaccuracies fast enough.

In the interim, we must be vigilant and careful about what we retweet, and what we repeat. So much of our news is derived from the Internet, that we need to use reliable sources and when in doubt check with sites like http://www.snopes.com or http://www.FactCheck.org for verification of our data.

Above are some spectacular pictures of Florida sunsets.