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The Threat of a Joyous World
Kamala Harris plays the game she is in.
I still have vague memories of the first time I realized that a person could lie without giving any hint that he was doing it. It was during the presidency of George W. Bush and I was watching an interview with Donald Rumsfeld on PBS. While I forget the interviewer and the subject, I do remember that Rumsfeld was describing an event in Afghanistan which had been unusual enough to catch my attention. Over previous weeks, I had reviewed many news articles and had established, to my satisfaction, a well-verified assessment of that particular event. What I remember very clearly is Rumsfeld answering a question about that exact subject. While he was doing that, I was fascinated by his face and gestures.
He was lying. I knew he was lying, but he was lying exactly as if he were telling the truth. He spoke with reserved confidence, he provided details, he described his false scenario with the consistency of a journalist explaining the real scenario. I recalled Bill Clinton’s denials of sexual infidelity. I recalled managers promising me time off if I just did this one thing. I recalled indigent friends promising they would only stay for a few days. In every case, I was sure that I saw a “tell”. In every case, I doubted the veracity of what always turned out to be a lie; but in that interview, I saw nothing…
