Some people think they can say anything that seems to be possible, that they think might be true, that they wish were true even though it isn't, that someone they know (or don't know) says is true, that they read online ... these people will say anything that promotes their personal perception of perfection so long as they don't know for sure that it is false. To support this habit, they make sure that they don't know very much. It's a lot like the ostrich approach to self-defense. And some people, most notably a past President of the United States, say anything they want even when they know for sure that it's false. These people are called compulsive liars.
In a nation that worships The Self and assigns maximum value to minimizing effort in all endeavors, each tribe accesses only information sources that say what they want to hear. This helps limit their knowledge, thereby reinforcing their presumed truths which, often, turn out to be lies.
But lies are now officially OK, as exemplified every hour by the former Liar in Chief. It's only bald-face lies that are now socially suspect. But the folks we're talking about believe that a lie isn't a bald-face lie unless the liar knows for absolute sure that it's a lie. Only the Liar in Chief is permitted to issue bald-face lies with impunity because He is above the law, exempt from formerly respected social graces, and immune to criticism. :-(
This is worrisome. Remember the cherry tree story about George Washington? Remember the oath administered to witnesses in courtrooms? Have you noticed how hard that former Administration worked to avoid taking that oath? Does truth matter any more? Is science now a branch of politics? Is journalism now a branch of fiction or just another form of entertainment? Is the law subjective? Will truth ever again become a moral value? Where are we going as a culture, as a civilization, as human beings?
Sorry, I'm not feeling very optimistic today.
3/8/2020