"...in the big lie there is always a certain force of credibility; because the broad masses of a nation are always more easily corrupted in the deeper strata of their emotional nature than consciously or voluntarily; and thus in the primitive simplicity of their minds they more readily fall victims to the big lie than the small lie... It would never come into their heads to fabricate colossal untruths, and they would not believe that others could have the impudence to distort the truth so infamously. Even though the facts which prove this to be so may be brought clearly to their minds, they will still doubt and waver and will continue to think that there may be some other explanation."
Adolf Hitler, Mein Kampf
Lies are useful. First are the little lies we tell one another as a matter of good etiquette. A woman will say a child is intelligent, even if she is firmly convinced that the child is an idiot. A man will seldom confess to his significant other that his beloved does, in fact, look appallingly fat in those pants. When people meet, it is not uncommon for them to exchange pleasantries such as "nice to meet you," even though the statement may be patently false. Lies such as these lubricate the moving parts of our everyday discussions and prevent people from rubbing one another the wrong way.
Some lies are told for selfish reasons. These are the lies men tell women to bed them (I love you), the lies women tell men to marry them (I'm pregnant) and the lies we tell each other to cover our asses when we feel that our interests are threatened (it isn't my fault, because...). They are the lies that help us attain what we cannot come by honestly: the lies that help us avoid unpleasant consequences we honestly deserve.
Other categories of untruths exist in the hierarchy of lies. However, all of them fall short of the truly elite falsehoods: the real whoppers and long-cons that when taken together form not only a category of untruth but an overarching fictional narrative - the Big Lie. Lies of this order transcend the everyday needs and doings of individual people. Instead, the myriad falsehoods that comprise the Big Lie shape our very perception of what is necessary and worth doing in the first place.
The best way to describe the Big Lie is as an obsolete user's manual. Suppose you went to the nearest big-box electronic retail outlet and purchased a new iPod. Further suppose that you took the iPod home, opened the box and discovered inside a user's guide for a phonograph player. Make no mistake, the user's guide for the phonograph player is quite useful, if you happen to own one. Unfortunately, you purchased an iPod instead, and the user's guide you have received will be of little use to you as you attempt to learn how to operate your iPod. While a phonograph and an iPod may share a function (audio playback), they are not the same thing. More to the point, an iPod is a far more sophisticated means of audio playback than a phonograph. As technology changes, so too does its means of operation.
Life is similar. As the human condition changes over time, so too do the means of attaining human happiness. What worked for people in bronze age Palestine or ancient Rome or feudal France may not (and probably will not) work for people in modern Manhattan. The problem, as it pertains to people in Manhattan, is that the human condition has changed radically in the last century; however, many Manhattanites still follow prescriptions for attaining happiness that have not changed rapidly enough to account for changes in their condition.
The Big Lie is an obsolete user's manual for modern living, and it is supported by an underlying set of lies that, if believed and acted upon, are supposed to yield happiness. Marriage, education, religion, home ownership, careerism, child rearing and consumerism (among others) are touted as pathways to happiness. However, we find that each of these activities is under assault in their modern incarnations, and that these ideas and institutions increasingly fail us in their intended purpose.
It is often said that America is the greatest nation in the world and that Americans have better living standards than any other nation. I doubt that the statement is true, but I would say that, solely from the perspective of standard of living, the United States is likely in the team picture when it comes to the question of who is the world's best.
Why, then, do 27 million Americans rely on anti-depressants to cope with modern living? Why are there more than 12 million alcoholics living in the United States? Why are more than 70 million Americans obese? Why do millions of Americans turn to street drugs and contraband pharmaceuticals as a means of escape? I could go on, but the big question is: why are a people blessed with so much freedom and so many resources so incapable of enjoying either?
I believe the answer is simple. They have been duped. They have been conned into bad marriages, tricked into investing tens (if not hundreds) of thousands of dollars and countless hours pursuing worthless academic degrees, hoodwinked into thinking that home ownership and financial security are somehow linked and that it was either necessary or desirable to own garish houses to begin with, deceived into believing that God (if he exists) gives a damn about them and will make everything right in the end, okey-doked into the conviction that everything will be better when they get that next raise or promotion that never seems to come, enthralled by the short term happiness that a new purchase brings, and beguiled into thinking that any of it will translate into a single second's worth of authentic joy.
Many Americans have stacked their lies so tall and wide that they are no longer able to see the plain light of day, nor would they want to, for if the Big Lie's scales fell from their waking eyes they would run shrieking in terror at the scope of their combined follies.
It is my intention to pry at those scales. I intend to write a series of diaries discussing each of what I perceive to be the individual falsehoods that comprise the false narrative I refer to as the Big Lie. Afterwards, I will explore what I believe to be some of the timeless founts of human happiness and how modern folks can most reliably tap into them. I hope that some of you will accompany me.