Dishonesty is the most pervasive form of corruption - and the one that enables all the others to thrive.
This is possible because humans are Not naturally honest; neither intrinsically, biologically nor culturally honest.
Instead, as a general rule, people tell other people whatever is expedient - constrained only by what is deniable... what they can get-away-with - and truthfulness is reserved for a few, very specific situations.
But even specific honesty - as a positive goal - is unlikely, unless honesty is general. Science was basically honest until about the middle 1960s, but in face of the collapse of Western societal honesty is now no more honest that mainstream culture: which is to say that modern 'science' (ie professional research) does not even aim to be honest.
Generalised honesty is, in essence, a purely Christian virtue, and has existed only in (some) Christian societies, and when Christianity has been dominant. And as Western Christianity has lapsed and been driven-out from public discourse and from all major social institutions (including law, education, and science); so has the ideal of honesty.
There is a clear dichotomy. Honesty is either a social ideal, and as such is the aim of all statements - great and small; or else is it is not - and any statement may be framed on a continuum from maximum to minimum honesty - from strictest possible honesty, to maximum strategic expediency.
Such thoughts were prompted by an extremely clarifying quote from the Instapundit Glenn Reynolds (H/T Dox Day):
Remember, they’re not making a big deal about sexual assault in
Hollywood because they found out about it. They’re making a big deal
because you found out about it.
The lessons of the Hollywood/ Mass-Media-in-general sex scandals are being lied about (purposefully, strategically) just as the normal, standard, approved, systematic sexual depravity and corruption of Hollywood is lied about in multiple ways.
The Mass Media who report the sex scandals are exactly the same social system within which the depraved sexuality occurs. What we can see is that there is a near-total cleavage in the sexual morals of the Mass Media and of ordinary people - especially in relation to the business of paedophilia/ pederasty/ assault/ rape relating to pre-pubertal children which is clearly common in the Mass Media, and a very common motivation among global Establishment leadership - while being almost unknown and incomprehensible outside of it.
This is not 'normal sexuality' being liberated by wealth and opportunity - it is a rare, corrupt, perverted and alien form of sexual desire. Yet it is so common among the ruling elites (not only in the mass media, but also politics and several other of the major social institutions) as to be regarded by insiders as normal.
As Glenn Reynolds said: from the mass media insider elite perspective, the only problem about systematic sexual corruption is when ordinary people get to hear about it. When there is honesty about what the insider elites are doing sexually, as a matter of daily routine - indeed as a matter of specific strategic preparation and organisation.
Otherwise it is evil concealed by lies upon lies, decade after decade. Among many tens of thousands of (rich, famous, powerful, high status) people who know exactly what is going-on and are quite happy about the situation - so long as other-people don't know what is going-on.
If, like me, you believe that the mass media is the primary and most powerful social institution in The West; and the social institution that most pervasively shapes the minds, motivations and attitudes of the largest numbers of people... well then, This Is A Problem.
In fact it is, not just A problem; but The problem.
