"I Cannot Tell A Lie"

[BeFree]

The first President, the first George Washington to hold the office, is said to have made this famous statement; "I cannot tell a lie".

America's first shaky steps on it's journey of revolutionary democracy was well served by a man with such credentials.

What has changed in those 2 hundred and 30 some odd years?

The neo-George Washington has as much as declared: "I can tell a lie. And I can tell it over and over and over again and again and again."

Something to think about on this Presidents Day, eh?

[maxsolomon]

1. he did not say that

that was myth-making PR bullshit.

nothing essential ever changes.

[BeFree]

2. Prove it

I believe he said it. And he also preached against the US going overseas to right wrongs because there would always be wrongs to fix at home.

In fact, most everything attributed to the first president has been raped and pillaged by this last one.

[NYC Liberal]

3. No, he didn't say it.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Washington#Personal_information

It was completely fabricated.

[BeFree]

8. Well, what does it matter?

The America I grew up in held that standard for two hundred years:
"I cannot tell a lie". And that standard served us well, I think.

It wasn't until the 'great communicator'- ronald reagan, (the most lying president ever) came into power before the term was completely thrown out the window.

This country is not the same country I grew up in, and it changed the day they claimed we were lied to about the first president.

[Solly Mack]

4. Google "Parson Weems"

[daydreamer]

5. I can't become president if I don't lie

That what he would probably say.

[NYCGirl]

6. It's a myth.

http://www.news.wisc.edu/3694.html

Prof reveals truth about cherry tree story: It's a lie
(Posted: 2/17/2000)
Barbara Wolff

You may have used the story of George Washington and the cherry tree to teach your children the virtue of honesty.

While a sterling example of personal integrity, the incident is a complete fabrication, concocted in 1806 by Parson Weems for a fictional account of Washington's life, according to Stephen Lucas, professor of communication arts and author of "The Quotable George Washington" (1999: Madison House).

Lucas, who last December co-authored a national survey of America's top 100 political speeches of the 20th century, concludes that Washington probably did not excel in oratory.

"He lacked the intellectual power of James Madison, the multifaceted genius of Benjamin Franklin, the rhetorical fire of Thomas Paine and the stylistic felicity of Thomas Jefferson," Lucas says.

[BeFree]

9. It may be a myth, indeed

But it was a myth that guided presidential conduct for all those years.

Myths are founded on some elemnt of truth. Geroge Washington may not have uttered those very words, but he may have.

The point trying to be made, and one which seemingly escapes yall, is that once the "I cannot tell a lie" was claimed to be a lie, the gates of the liars was opened upon America, resulting in the present day liars taking over.

That's my story, and I'm sticking to it. <grin>

[DrWeird]

10. What are you talking about?

For starters, anybody who says "I don't lie" is lying and probably lies more than most people.

Secondly, where are you getting the idea that Washington was any more honest than anybody else, and that people only started lying once other people started pointing out that the original quote was a myth?

[BeFree]

11. Hey, your destroying the myth, watch it!

They don't call you Dr Weird for nothing, eh? <grin>

Washington was selected because of his leadership abilities, and one could surmise that a great part of those abilities came from being able to convince others to stick with the revolutionary idea.

No one is so naive to believe politicians, or any one, never lies, but the myth was destroyed, IIRC, at about the time ronald reagan, the greatest liar ever, took office. Being that he got away with all that crap at about the same time as the myth took a shot to the belly, led me to proffer the connection.

Ya gotta admit, it makes pretty good sense. Of course, if some of you are so damned cynical that you believe that America was founded on lies, none of this would make any sense to yall.

Whatever....Peace.

[DrWeird]

7. That, ironically, is a lie.

George Washington was a slave owning hypocrite too, for what it's worth.