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That's nice rhetoric, but when you disregard the truth in order to keep up in the arms race of lies that you claim the other side started, you become as reprehe
by tomku 14y ago
That's nice rhetoric, but when you disregard the truth in order to keep up in the arms race of lies that you claim the other side started, you become as reprehensible as them.
- Retric 14y agoTelling lies and X is not equally as bad as telling lies and not X. EX: Where X is killing people. 'Smoking cigarettes makes you popular smoking cigarettes makes you unpopular.'
- crusso 14y agoUnfortunately, we rarely have an absolute scale upon which to judge X. Everyone always claims the moral high ground, justifying their attempts to be deceptive with the same defense you provide there.
- Symmetry 14y agoThat's a particularly bad example, since the idea that cigarettes will make you unpopular will be a transparent falsehood to the target audience, and might cause them to doubt you when you say that cigarettes will kill them.
- Retric 14y agoThere was some recent anti smoking advertising that used that line, basically smoking = bad smell/yellow teeth = unpopular. Where a few years ago similar advertising used the smoking = cool = you become popular line of argument. Granted this was sub textual, but the implications where clear enough.
- tptacek 14y agoWhen the currency of the debate is lies, the party that tells the best lies wins. The best liars rarely happen to be the ones you want to win.
- tomjen3 14y agoAs responsible for what though? As responsibly for lying? Yes. In the end you have to be able to say 'I am right on this subject, and they are wrong' and act accordingly. And when the fight is over there is zero point for being virtuous.