Today, as I am typing this post, Mr. Michael Cohen is testifying before the Congress in the very mediatic case of the investigations into Mr. Trump's. Many are rising for and against Mr. Cohen or his words. One of the things that stand out is Mr. Cohen's record at lying. The long list of things he did on personal title or on behalf of others is long like the Amazonas river, and now, as he reverts course, it seems that all the falsehoods he had said and attested to are not only catching up with him, but down right running over him. People who once seemed to partner with him or support him and his word, are now turning against him viciously.
Then again, let's remember that Mr. Cohen isn't the only one with a record of lying. Hardly anyone from the Trump entourage can be exempted from the lying. And, just to point this out, is the people that benefited from his confirmed lying the ones that are calling harder against him and the credibility of his word. It's not only a case of "the pot calling the kettle black", but an ugly reminder of how a system that has lies at its base attacks those that change their tune.
Now, that's... well, I won't call it "politics" because I'm an idealist and I believe that true politics do not mean by default "corruption". Politics isn't equal to corruption, just like business isn't equal to corruption either. The thing that got me thinking, however, was the fragile nature of credibility.
I've met a lot of people who deal in lies. If you've been reading my blog, you have probably read a couple of my rants about people I know who have lied. I'm sure you have probably also met people who lied, and lied a lot. First of all, it's important to note that we all lie. The idea of a completely honest person is a fiction: nobody is exempt of lying. Since we all tend to lie in different degrees, the practice of offering proof for what we say, back our words with evidence is also common. The problem comes when someone lies constantly, or lies on very big issues with frequency, or lies about everything - major or minor - and even lies in the face of the truth.
The issue here is that we tend to believe people - even though we know that people may lie to us - because we do believe that people will be inclined to tell us the truth. No, not everybody believes at first, but most of us do - thus the effectivity of fraudulent actions. However, when we realize that someone lies to us, that bubble of credibility breaks and suddenly we meet their words with suspition.
There are extreme cases where someone lies to us - be it a person or an organization - but time and time again we choose to believe them. Think here of religious institutions, community leaders, political parties, significant others. When we are tied to someone or something and we develop a dependant relationship, we might choose to believe because we can't afford not to. However, I believe that even in this situation, once lies are uncovered, credibility chips away, and we get more sensible to recognize and react to further lies. Think here, for instance, of the person that finds out their significant other has cheated on them. They may stay together, the person might choose to believe that it was a mistake and it won't happen again, but from then on, they will remain suspitious of any other possible chance.
However, not all cases are that extreme, and when a person has lied, and lied in the face of the truth, can they regain their credibility? If they speak the truth and back that truth with evidence - say, truly unquestionable, solid evidence - is that enough to repair their credibility?
I find here Mr. Cohen a case of study. Yes, we see a man repentant, a man that now speaks up - as he had before - but this time claims to speak with the truth and brings (some) evidence to back up his words. Even if he proves to be true, even if all of his words are confirmed, will that be enough to regain his trustworthiness?
In my experience, for me, that's not enough. Sadly, credibility is a delicate asset that once lost is lost forever. A lifetime of lying and cheating can hardly be revoked, erased, by a tell-all intensive marathon. He might tell the truth, but now are not his words what have meaning, but the evidence he has to support his devaluated words. From here on, as he speaks, the cloud of the lies he has spun will hang over his head and he will be forced to back up all of his claims, and even his back up will need back up so that his words can stand.
Yes, we all lie. We lie most often about stupid things, like if we really kept the diet as we should have, how much exercise we actually did, how much do we really drink. We lie about stupid things like who we like and who we don't like, how often do we brush our teeth or - and this is the most common - how ahead in our work/study/project are we. Lying about how many chapters have we really read of the book we are supposed to finish by tomorrow, or how many guilty pleasure books/movies/food/video games do we really consume do not chip away from our credibility. Lying about big things does, and those lies eventually come back at us.
Can we recover from a life of mistakes and lying? Let's keep an eye on the notable Mr. Cohen, see how forgiving our society is with those that take our shared sins to a higher ground.
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