The accumulation of little lies

I was talking with a conservative friend the other day and he casually mentioned that Saddam had kicked the weapon inspectors out of Iraq. This is a good example of the power of the little lie. Saddam never did kick them out. Bush did. Saddam, toward the end, completely cooperated and that was reported in the news at the time. So why did my friend get it so wrong? Its the power of the little lie.

This lie is one of many that were (and continue to be) repeated over and over again by the conservative echo chamber. The same lie, in the same words, and even in the same tone of voice is drummed into the heads of the American public. It becomes "conventional wisdom". The truth is reported at the time and then not repeated. There was no counter balancing propaganda effort and Fox News and other Bush supporters dominated the propaganda. The little lie is repeated over time while the truth is not.

When I pointed out the error of his statement, my friend just brushed it aside and went on. It didn't fit with his beliefs and attitudes and he didn't stop to examine it. The accumulation of little lies was so great it formed a firm, and irrational, belief for him. So what are we to do?

The answer is to question.