By Nathan ‘Jolly’ Green. September 12, 2020.

A lie is
an assertion that is believed to be false, typically used to deceive
someone. The practise of communicating lies is called lying. A person
who speaks a lie may be termed a liar. Lies may serve a variety of
instrumental, interpersonal, or psychological functions for the
individuals who use them. Generally, the term "lie" carries
a negative connotation and depending on the context, a person who
communicates a lie should be subject to social, legal, religious, or
criminal sanctions.

Typically
lies aim to deceive, when deception is successful, the listener ends
up acquiring a false belief. When deception is unsuccessful, a lie
may be discovered. The discovery of a lie may discredit other
statements by the same speaker, staining his reputation. In some
circumstances, it may also negatively affect the social or legal
standing of the speaker. Lying in a court of law, for instance, is a
criminal offence (perjury).

Aristotle
believed no general rule on lying was possible because anyone who
advocated lying could never be believed, he said. Although the
philosophers, St. Augustine, St. Thomas Aquinas, and Immanuel Kant,
condemned all lying, Thomas Aquinas did advance an argument for
lying, however. According to all three, there are no circumstances in
which, ethically, one may lie. Even if the only way to protect
oneself is to lie, it is never morally permissible to lie even in the
face of murder, torture, or any other hardship. Each of these
philosophers gave several arguments for the ethical basis against
lying, all compatible with each other. Among the more critical views
are:

1/ Lying
is a perversion of the natural faculty of speech, the natural end of
which is to communicate the thoughts of the speaker.

2/ When
one lies, one undermines trust in society.

3/ A
liar can never be trusted.

So why
does the prime minister of a country render a stream of continuous
lies to the people? Why is the leader of Saint Vincent and the
Grenadines so mendacious? Why does Ralph Gonsalves tell lies, lots of
lies? Perhaps if the people knew the truth about everything he does,
has done and will do, they would oust him fast.

In Saint
Vincent, there are so many brainwashed supporters of the Unity Labour
Party they do not recognise the lies, and those that do would rather
accept them as the truth.

For some
of his lies punishment is deserved. But no one and no organisation,
police, judiciary or even the people can punish him, or are unwilling
to do so.

In most
liars, the serious lies and falsehoods are usually told to conceal
the reward or benefit the liar obtained by breaking a rule or
explicit expectation. The liar decides before breaking a rule that he
or she will if questioned lie to cover the cheating. In the case of
Ralph Gonsalves, one is at a loss as to why he must lie at all. Every
story he tells, even some agreements he signs, seems to have an
element of untruth in them and are based on lies.

In Saint
Vincent, the citizens have ingested so many lies by this man over the
last twenty years, they are hardened to it. Many citizens expect him
to lie; it has become the norm.

According
to Gonsalves himself, he tells lies, he informed parliament and the
people of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines he tells lies. He also
told us if you show him a liar, he will show you a thief, what a
self-condemnation that could be. But even those who support him and
follow him, who rely on him for support financially deny his
confession of being a liar. So, he tells the people he is a liar and
that every liar is a thief, yet a section of the electorate cheer him
on, how on earth can that possibly be?

The man
has confessed to the world that he is a liar, yet he is still given
quarter at all those places where such behaviour is unacceptable. The
United Nations Security Council, should he be allowed to step foot in
there? He is a lawyer, so remember he has said he tells lies, he has
told lies in the past, he tells lies now, and therefore we can assume
he will continue doing so in the future. As such a confessed person
to make such a statement should that not be brought before the court
every time, he sues someone or makes statements to the court? Perjury
is the criminal act of lying or making statements to misrepresent
something while under oath. Lying under oath disrupts the judicial
process and should be taken very seriously. Being convicted of
perjury for an ordinary citizen can result in severe consequences.
Can a confessed liar be relied upon not to lie under oath, will
taking the oath make any difference at all?

As a
confessed liar, and having self-determined that a liar is also a
thief, how on earth can the man be accepted in any department of
government, as a lawmaker, as the prime minister, how?

This
mendacious behaviour filters down to the minions under his control,
other lawyers, every rank of the police, the judiciary. So, in Saint
Vincent, we are in danger from lying lawyers, police officers,
judges, and Members of Parliament from his party. Because if it is
perfectly normal to behave as he does, as is told by Ralph Gonsalves,
it must be OK for everyone else. That is why there are little or no
consequences to his lies because everyone around him is capable of
being a liar, a cheat, and a thief.

Remember
the teacher’s contract; Ralph Gonsalves told the teachers that it
was the best contract they ever had. When teachers came to enforce
sections of the agreement, Gonsalves told them the contract was
unenforceable against the government because it was unconstitutional
and therefore illegal. He went on to say that he and others knew it
was unenforceable when they signed it. Well to me that sounds very
much like conspiracy to defraud based on lies and misinformation. The
law supposedly looks to prevent
an unscrupulous or evil person from taking advantage of someone who
cannot make a reasoned decision when entering a contract. But
apparently not in Saint Vincent.

The
teachers expected honest, good faith bargaining during contract
transactions. But misrepresentations occurred which they were unaware
of when Gonsalves said something false and concealed and
misrepresented the actual situation. When he said this is the best
contact you the teachers have ever had, it was grossly untrue and
admitted he knew both when he signed, and when he made the statement.

If this
were a transaction in the business world deception is a severe
offence and is punishable by imprisonment and would carry massive
financial rewards to the teachers.

But
Ralph Gonsalves can say and do anything he wants with no
repercussions, no consideration by the DPP of anything he should do;
the police would never dare to confront him, the rest of the people
do not give a damn unless they think it directly affects them. But it
does affect them, the results of lying and cheating are cumulative,
and eventually, everything that Gonsalves says or does as prime
minister of SVG has some effect on us all.

Has size
and fatness got anything to do with being a gross liar? In the film
Big Fat Liar, the story tells of a character whose lies become out of
control to the point where each lie he tells causes him to grow in
size. Currently, Ralph Gonsalves is the fattest country leader in the
Hemisphere. Does that make him the biggest liar? Perhaps we should
study that.

SVG has
no Transparency legislation under Ralph Gonsalves; the honesty of
transparency is when you share what you perceive to be the truth.
Transparency is what others see as the truth. The truth they feel
they need to know. While it is essential to be honest, Vincentians
deserve more; they need truthfulness in leadership.

Honesty
and truthfulness is the best policy; it is NDP policy, Dr Godwin
Friday will always be honest and truthful with the Vincentian people.
Under NDP, SVG will get the Transparency Legislation it deserves.

Gonsalves
is unable to control himself, and no one else can take him to task.
Those are two meaningful reasons to get rid of him at the next
election. Let us try decency, let us try a leader that does not tell
lies or cheat as he did with the teachers. The problem is we do not
know precisely where the lies end and the truth begins. We do not
know if anything he has told us, or what he has ever done are
truthful and decent. Our alliance with leaders of other countries,
are they based on lies and deception of the Vincentian people? Deals
with foreign investors may even be questioned when you are aware of
his past mendacious behaviour, spoken and contractorly.

Summarily
voting for rogue countries in the chambers of the United Nations, is
our support of such country’s leadership based on lies and
cheating?

He must
go, it is the only way we can resolve a return to truth and decency,
he must go.

END

IMAGES: Supplied by author

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