Lying liars

Everyone tells lies, somewhere, sometime. It’s part of who we are, unable to be honest about the taste of a particularly bad dish, unable to admit a relationship is over, unable to keep our hands off others money. Lies lies lies.

In a recent interview with an attorney, Bernie Madoff sounded surprised that he “got away” with his Ponzi Scam for so long. Anyone who has ever been scammed or screwed over or just flat out lied to knows the opposite story, how could I ever have fallen for that loser, lier, whatever.

So today, as part of my job, I was sitting in as attorneys chatted with an expert witness. As I sat through the first house, I was kind of bored, but also a bit provoked. See, this witness was an expert in health care, a provider of healthy living and yet, he was a piggy. So, for the longest time, I kept thinking, who in their right mind is going to get treatment from someone who does not follow their own regimen.

Then the expert began to slip. Sure, he said, he was the president of a health institute. And when asked later, by the opposing attorney, how many members belonged to this institute, the answer was, “me and my business partner.”

Heck, I could form an institute of blogging boneheads, elect myself president and probably become a TV talking head, spouting nonsense like most of the others. (I should make a note to myself to do just that).

The lawyers continued to seek information from the president of the institute of silliness. As he spoke more and more questionable information sprang from his silly mouth and I began to have flashback to all the people in my life who I had caught lying to me. There is a pattern to these truth stretchers. As long as you will believe them, they will continue with the lies. It is only after they have been questioned, when things no longer add up, do they either retreat into the darkness, or in a couple of cases, lash out in wildly dramatic screaming fits. The more you question their integrity, the more they go from passionate self defense to nutty idiocy and finally making threats of lawsuits or some such.

So, it was with deep satisfaction that I watched an attorney take the president of made up institute to task. It was fun watching the fakery stripped to the bone, watching a man who had obviously not had anyone question his credentials have someone intelligently question his credentials.

And like Bernie Madoff and so many others, the president walked out of the room, maybe not changed, but certainly chagrined.

I walked out smiling.