Above the law

by Mark Snider, Hamilton

Why is the government above the law?

Most people believe lying is morally wrong. Lying corrupts our sense of kindness and humaneness and our ability to feel guilt free. Each lie contradicts the part of us that demonstrates our moral values and credibility. Lies also rob others of their freedom to make choices based on the truth and destroy their reason to trust us.

Lying has consequences. If we lie to our spouse, family or employer they find it difficult to trust us or forgive us. Is a lie worth the loss of a marriage, relationship or job?

Consider your doctor or attorney lying to you. Think about your investment advisor or spouse lying to you. If you had a choice, wouldn’t you prefer the truth rather than a dishonest answer? What about your pastor?

Our Federal government requires all citizens to tell the truth to Federal agencies; here is a quote from the Congressional Research Service. “Federal courts, Congress, and federal agencies rely upon truthful information in order to make informed decisions. Federal law therefore proscribes (forbids by law by) providing the federal courts, Congress, or federal agencies with false information.” See 18 U.S.C. § 1001.

If a citizen or voter lies to the government, the government fines them and/or puts them in jail or both. Our elected officials lie to the citizens since there are no laws against it. In fact, they lie to us over and over again with impunity. No matter if the lies take away our freedoms or divide the country; they are almost exempt from punishment. Although there are no written laws prohibiting our politicians from lying to us they may suffer some penalties such as receiving a lawsuit or being censured.

Every business is subject to punishment if they make false claims or misleading advertising. But, if our government, including the House and Senate and Executive branch lies or misleads us, they are free to double down on their lies or exempt themselves from responsibility claiming “free speech”.

You might ask what lies I am talking about. Here are a few: President Bush II lied about weapons of mass destruction in Iraq. President L. Johnson lied about the sinking of the Maine in the Tonkin Bay. President Nixon lied about Watergate when he said, “No one in the White House staff… was involved.” President Clinton lied about an affair. President Trump lied when he claimed the election was rigged or stolen.

Because of the government’s power, privilege and control, when it lies the consequences can cause much more harm than any nongovernmental entity.

Presidents and lawmakers pay no price for lying instead they are encouraged to mislead and misdirect their constituents. I see it, our government should be held to an even higher standard than those it is supposed to represent or serve. They are being paid to serve us, protect us and have our well being in mind, not their own. We need some sort of vetting process to eliminate liars and demagogues from dividing the country. We need laws to protect the American people from dishonest politicians.

We the people should vote liars and corporate owned officials out of office. Even the Judicial Branch has no code of ethics or meaningful vetting process for judges since they are appointed by corrupt politicians.

Our government takes our freedoms away and creates laws they do not adhere to. No matter what the majority of people desire in regards to taxes, freedoms, gun laws, our right to privacy and justice, our “petitions to government for a redress of grievances” fall on deaf ears.

Remember saying the pledge of allegiance? Our country is supposed to be indivisible with liberty and justice for all. One political party has spread fear, lies, division and hatred across the nation. And our liberties are being taken away and “Justice for all” has become meaningless, especially if you are black or tell the truth.

I want to trust our government, don’t you? The problem is there are no laws to prevent our judges, representatives or presidents from lying to us. Our elected officials are obviously blind to justice, fairness and equality. I say, lying is immoral and unethical, and so are most of our representatives. Truth and honesty are more important than winning. It is up to voters to elect honest people who will protect us from dishonest and corrupt politicians.