The most interesting conversation is not about why Donald Trump lies. Many public figures lie, and he's only a severe example of a common type. The interesting conversation concerns how we come to accept those lies.
Interpretation
This quote prompts reflection on societal acceptance of lies rather than just focusing on the individual who tells them.
Bret Stephens highlights that the focus should not merely be on why a particular individual, like Donald Trump, lies, but rather on the broader societal dynamics that allow such lies to be accepted. This speaks to a deeper philosophical inquiry into truth, perception, and the responsibilities of both leaders and the public in acknowledging and confronting dishonesty.
In practice
During a seminar on ethics in politics, this quote can be used to illustrate the importance of holding society accountable.
I routinely interview college students, mostly from top schools, and I notice that their brains are like old maps, with lots of blank spaces for the uncharted terrain. It's not that they lack for motivation or IQ. It's that they can't connect the dots when they don't know where the dots are in the first place.
The more afraid we are of the shadow of racism, the more conscious we might become of our own unsuspected biases.
We live in a world in which data convey authority. But authority has a way of descending to certitude, and certitude begets hubris.
The American birthright belongs, potentially, to everyone. This is unprecedented. Other countries accept migrants on the basis of economic necessity or as a humanitarian gesture. Only in America is it the direct consequence of our foundational ideals.
The natural role of twentieth-century man is anxiety.
Until a few months ago we had a code of honor, and even the worst ruffians behaved with decency. You could leave your gold in a tent with no guard and no one would touch it, but now all that has changed. The law of the jungle rules, the only ideology is greed. Don't let yourself be parted from your weapons, and always travel in pairs or groups, because this is a land of thieves.
In any civilized society, it is every citizen's responsibility to obey just laws. But at the same time, it is every citizen's responsibility to disobey unjust laws.
It is a very rare man who does not victimize the helpless.
The moon is brighter since the barn burned.
Who in the world am I? Ah, that's the great puzzle.
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