One lie starts a marriage, another starts a war

There are some lies that are so common they’ve become one-liners. The most recognizable fib: “The check’s in the mail.” We even laugh when folks say it and mean because it’s been used so often by folks that lied.

Another sentence often proves untrue: “I give this ring as a sign of my love and fidelity.” Fidelity! Forgive my scoffing, but that one is just so rich.

Do you think that Elizabeth Edwards got a kick out of that one when she heard it? Or do you think she believed him? That John Edwards – such a kidder!

Imagine the thoughts running through Elizabeth’s head as John told her that. Thoughts like, “I am sure he really means it. I’m about to tie my future to him and I trust him to keep his word. I know this is right and that it’s the right thing for me to do.”

We all know how she felt because we’ve felt the same way. Even if some of us have never been married, we’ve had that “I know I can trust you” feeling.

If you can’t remember having blind faith in someone’s word, and committing to actions based on that faith, let me remind you.

“Saddam Hussein is buying yellow cake enriched uranium from Niger.”

We really fell for that one. We didn’t just commit to a marriage based on that lie. Once that lie was followed up with “Iraq has weapons of mass destruction,” we committed to a war.

John Edwards may be a cad and his wife an unfortunate cuckold, but a nation that fell for lies that convinced us to kill innocent people has no right to point and stare.

I know we were scared. We excuse our bad judgment because we were blinded by fear. But we’ve done nothing about the lie or the liar. We’ve dismissed the actions that led us to war because we’ve accepted the president’s motivations as pure; like John Edward’s motivations on his wedding day.

Let’s quit throwing stones at Sen. Edwards and remember that we fell for the most idiotic lie of all: “Mission Accomplished!”

This country has lost its way.

We care more about the sex lives of narcissistic superstar politicians than we do about the real issues plaguing our country.

What if, John Edwards got half the press attention that he’s gotten this week when he was still running for president? Then we might actually be discussing the real sins that plague our nation, not Edwards’ adultery or the lie he told to protect his wife and kids from public humiliation.

Gossiping about the sex lives of famous people does only one thing. It guarantees that children will know the intimate details of their parent’s mistakes.

If we could acknowledge the immorality of the wealthiest nation in the world allowing its own people to starve, we’d stop talking about sex lives and start talking about human lives. For example, the faith- based not-for-profit organization, Bread for the World, says that 12.6 percent of our country lives in poverty and 11.4 percent of us has food insecurity; 11.4 percent of us are hungry.

In a decent world that appropriately prioritizes the lies that are told, Elizabeth Edwards could suffer her husband’s infidelity without the voyeurism of the average schmuck who, quite frankly, isn’t perfect either.

Telling a lie is one of the oldest recorded realities of interpersonal communications. In the first book of the Bible, Cain killed his brother Abel and then – surprise, surprise – lied about it. Displeased by Cain, God cast him out, east of Eden.

One of John Steinbeck’s greatest works is named for this land where liars are sent. In it he writes, “Nearly everyone in the world has appetites and impulses, trigger emotions, islands of selfishness, lusts just beneath the surface.” The villain in “East of Eden” is one who knows, “not only these impulses in others, but how to use them for her own gain.”

Let’s stop allowing politicians to use our impulses, like fear or voyeurism, for their own gain. Let’s make that our “mission” to “accomplish.”

Pat LaMarche of Yarmouth is the spokesperson for the Evergreen Mountain Resort & Casino referendum campaign. She’s the author of “Left Out in America” and can be reached at PatLaMarche@hotmail.com.