"THEY ALL LIE "

 The source of the quote above in the title is at the end of yesterday's post here in the Advocate.  Pat Potter was decades ahead of her time and she knew liars when she heard them. Among many claims to fame was her discovery of the P.C.B.s found at Smithville, Ont.. She also discovered a dump possibly inside an abandoned quarry with petroleum hydrocarbon wastes in it. I vaguely recall her mentioning the original source as possibly Imperial Oil. The problem for me was that I failed to take her quote "They all lie" literally. 

She literally meant that ALL the people responsible and authorized as either spoke persons or "experts" were going to lie to the public. They had already settled the broad outlines of what they were and were not willing to do, spend, blame etc. plus what they might be willing to concede was true. Essentially the narrative they had all agreed to in private was that public hysteria, outrage and anger had to be softened as much as possible. These emotions could lead to dire social upheavals including an overall loss of respect for politicians and our democratic form of government.

There's an old adage that Democracy while not perfect is still by far the best form of government. I would suggest that no manmade institution has ever been or ever will be perfect. Democratic governments have certainly exceeded many other forms of governance including despots, communism, monarchies etc. They have however also failed abysmally around the world. Any and all forms of government can and have been perverted by persons of ill will. These persons are generally inferior as human beings but superior as liars. I would suggest that this is what separates us from animals. We communicate and lie constantly especially those of us in positions of power and authority.

Think of the arrogance required to assume that only elected citizens be given all the facts. Only politicians and their allies allegedly are smart enough to make the tough decisions. These tough decisions include growth and development for growth's sake. The included lies are that growth pays for itself. Growth helps the economy. Growth helps municipalities have larger tax bases and on and on. 

Apparently both in Guelph and Elmira (actually everywhere) development is wonderful even on contaminated sites. Who knew? By intentionally stickhandling around a serious environmental investigation of the Stroh (& Martin) farm, Elmira (Woolwich Twn.) has green lighted commercial development including a highway By-Pass up and around the east side of Elmira. In Guelph plans are underway for affordable housing on the former industrial IMICO site on Beverley St.  Minor issues such as no first floor housing (2nd story and up) and no gardens being allowed on site unless they are raised gardens with the soil all brought in from off-site haven't stopped plans in their tracks as they should. That site is a mess just as the former Uniroyal site in Elmira is.

Not to fear however as the authorized to lie, cheat and steal persons including politicians are all on board. They will sell their anti-social plans to most of us. This will require lots of credentialism and "Qualified Persons" as well as a few co-opted citizens, various municipal committees, mayors and councillors to all be on board. Provincial agencies/ministries are also helpful to sell the highly odourous and slimy "truth" to us. Who do we believe? A few honest citizens or dozens and dozens of bought and paid for bureaucrats, government employees, elected officials etc.? At what point do we as citizens understand that we have been lied to by all levels of government routinely and continuously and that everybody else involved are simply along for the self-serving financial ride?