Mobs, Messiahs, and Markets

Bright Shining Lies

Everywhere we look, nature tells us the same story. That deceit is nothing new. Humans didn't invent it. There are butterflies whose tails look like their heads. No one would say that the butterfly intends to mislead predators, but that is the effect of it. Other animals look like wasps but actually have no power to sting. Still others take the form of inedible species, when they are actually tasty. Some fireflies light up as though they were the females of another species, in order to prey on the males. Birds will pretend to be injured in order to distract predators from the nest. Dogs will sometimes pretend to be injured, too—merely to get petted. The only difference is that having bigger brains, human beings can lie better. “The dog ate my homework.” “Honey, I had to stay late at the office.” “The check is in the mail.”

Ethnologists believe that in the animal kingdom staged battles are, in fact, more common than the fight to the death variety.²²

Bluff, bluster, humbug, fraud—we live in it every day. And yet, who would be willing to admit it? Instead, we all take the lies even further—we lie about lying! We lie with body language. We lie with words. We tell each other we appreciate the truth, but in fact the truth is often the last thing we want to hear. Imagine the husband who says: “You look awful tonight, honey.” “Boy, I sure had a good time last night at the strip joint.” Imagine the politician who says: “You voters spend too much money … you eat too ...