Agreeing with Obama

The subject of "honesty" gets a bit complicated.  Living among others in polite society, sometimes total honesty is simply rude.

 

Amazingly, there is even debate about what constitutes "honesty".  In my mind, stating an opinion as an established fact is a LIE, even if it turns out that the opinion is correct.  The precise wording is crucial in these situations.

 

For me, honesty is one of the most important qualities in a leader or elected official.  It does not matter so much to me whether I AGREE with someone's ideas, as long as they are fundamentally honest.

 

I disagree with President Obama on many issues, but there is one thing he does, over and over and over, that especially irritates and aggravates me.  In his speeches, he regularly makes statements that begin with phrases such as "I think we can all agree that ..." or "Experts are in agreement that ..."

 

When I hear President Obama say, "I think we call all agree ...", I can be fairly certain that he is about to say something with which I strongly disagree, and with which I am certain many others -- sometimes a majority of Americans -- also strongly disagree.  I would not mind if he said, "I believe that ...", but he seems to feel it necessary to erroneously claim that there is widespread AGREEMENT on what he is about to say.

 

To me, this constitutes a blatant LIE, regardless of which side of the issue you are on, or which side is "correct".  Ironically, he rarely uses these phrases UNLESS he is about to say something controversial.  He does not say, "I think we can all agree that water is wet," or "Experts are in agreement that two plus two equals four."  Instead, he says, "I think we can all agree that income redistribution is a noble goal, " or "Experts are in agreement that my approach is good for the American economy."

 

I do not know what to make of this.  There are at least two separate aspects to consider.  First, I am fairly certain that President Obama uses these statements more often than any other recent President -- more often than either President Bush, or President Clinton, or President Reagan, or President Carter.  Secondly, I believe he generally uses them to precede ideas that LACK widespread agreement, whereas some people might make such statements with regards to subjects where there truly IS widespread agreement.

 

I may be wrong on either or both of these points.  Perhaps this is all just my perception.  However, if I am correct, and President Obama habitually uses such statements to introduce ideas about which we do NOT agree, then he ends up alienating me at precisely those moments when he is attempting to persuade me.  Then again, perhaps this is just me.  Perhaps the technique is an effective way to persuade other people.

 

Some might say this is just a question of personal style, rather than substance.  Sometimes we just do not like another person's "style".  I disagree.  In this case, President Obama insists on, and persists in, LYING.  For me, dishonesty IS a matter of substance rather than style -- though his routine use of these terms also constitutes an issue of style, and I do not like this style.

 

Truth is complicated.