Headcase - When the truth won’t do

Republicans make up something truthier

It’s official. Within the first few hours of the Republican National Convention, the notion of “truth” had vanished.

In its place, we now have what Stephen Colbert calls “truthiness.” Things are “truthy” when they’re wishful assertions accepted without factual basis. Creationism is truthy. It has no basis in fact, but is accepted as true by those who can’t abide Darwin’s theory of evolution.

Truthy beliefs usually are founded on “gut” intuitions, like George Bush’s certainty that Saddam Hussein was intent on attacking America. There’s utterly no evidence of that, but Bush and his minions continued to make this truthy assertion, which became accepted as fact by the majority of Americans.

So much truthiness was displayed at the GOP convention that it’s hard to figure out how participants have maintained any foothold in reality. Their behavior went far beyond the usual hypocrisy, which implies enough consciousness to try to hide one’s own behavior while condemning others for the same behavior. Hypocrites, once exposed, typically issue apologies and run off to the rehab center.

But advocates of truthiness have neither a sense of guilt nor an awareness of their ideological incoherence. Our society has apparently become so cynical that there’s not even much effort to disguise contradictory beliefs and behaviors. Ordinary hypocrisy is so yesterday.

The most outstanding example last week was John McCain’s choice of Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, a creationist, as his vice presidential running mate. It would be understating things to call Palin’s selection hypocritical. After months of hammering Sen. Barack Obama for his lack of experience, his selection of Palin seemed breathtakingly oblivious. She was vetted only the day before her selection. And more thorough vetting – retroactive vetting? – began after McCain tapped her. Truthiness ignores narrative time.

Meanwhile, Palin, who’s under investigation for ethics violations, told one fib after another – painting a complete picture of truthiness. The denouement, at least at this writing last Wednesday, was the announcement that her unmarried 17-year-old daughter, Bristol, is pregnant. Palin, of course, only supports sex education that teaches abstinence, and she slashed the Alaska budget for services that supported unwed mothers.

To Republicans, the important thing isn’t that she and her family members can’t measure up to their own standards. Rather than take a serious look at the standards she’s tried to impose on Alaska, Palin polishes reality with truthiness. The really important thing, she says, is that Bristol plans to keep the child and marry her high school boyfriend. That’s the truthy part. Ignore everything that came before the announcement of her pregnancy.

Another cynically truthy occurrence at the convention was the decision to call off all but “necessary activities” on day one, because of Hurricane Gustav’s expected landfall in New Orleans. McCain urged delegates to spend the time doing what they could for hurricane victims. It was all very noble, with lots of humanitarian babble, very truthy.

Then, ABC News caught delegates on tape, partying their asses off at the expense of corporations and lobbyists. Asked why they weren’t helpig out at the Red Cross, the party peeps refused to speak to reporters.

Of course, the media abetted the truthy depiction of the convention, too. An army of “citizen journalists” videotaped warrantless raids on protesters’ homes and truly stunning arrests of journalists like Amy Goodman of “Democracy Now!.” But the story of police and FBI intimidation barely made it into the mainstream press’s accounts, and only then days after the blogosphere’s reports. You watched CNN, you got truthiness. You logged onto TheUptake.org, and you got a shocking look at the way the state’s powers have returned to the era of J. Edgar Hoover.

The November election will be the ultimate test of voters’ willingness to face reality or desire to continue to participate in the absurdist drama of truthiness. I have a feeling that people’s dwindling bank accounts might finally force them to cope with reality.

Cliff Bostock holds a Ph.D. in depth psychology. For his blog and information on his private practice, go to www.cliffbostock.com.