I Won't Lie

There was a time that I identified as a liberal. It was around the time of the 1990s and Bill Clinton was in office as the 42nd President of the United States. Back then, the world still made sense to me. I used to believe that people were generally good. I used to believe that a man's word was his bond and that, as a rule, people didn't go out of their way to lie to one another.

In the aftermath of September 11, I was to discover that I was hopelessly naïve. America went to war in Iraq on the pretext of Saddam Hussein having weapons of mass destruction. Every media outlet followed this narrative, blindly believing that what the intelligence community had led us all to believe was true. Of course, Saddam Hussein denied the allegations – but, of course he would. And, significantly, no one thought to check the veracity of what was being fed to everyone by the likes of CNN and the New York Times.

Media outlets such as the aforementioned were once hailed as pillars of responsible journalism. CNN had been in existence since the 1980s, and the New York Times started printing newspapers in 1852. Yet, when Covid 19 hit in 2020, both would be outed as having embarked on campaigns of misinformation and censorship. I would never have believed it if I hadn't lived through it, yet these two outstanding media organisations have, in the space of the last 2 to 3 years, destroyed their once sterling reputations in the name of kowtowing to government pressure and censorship, and the narrative of wokeness that has infested world society during the last decade.

The truth about the origins of Covid 19. The truth about the Hunter Biden laptop scandal. The Twitter files. The claims of Russian interference in the 2016 United States election. The insurrection of January 6, and the role of the Democratic Party therein. All of these events were singularly newsworthy, yet the mainstream media went out of their way to silence all those who spoke about them, and embarked on campaigns of de-platforming, silencing, and censoring every expert who deemed it appropriate to comment in opposition to leftist narratives on social media regarding them.

As a conservative white male, I have experienced things that I would never have thought possible in my lifetime. Gender affirming care. LGBT and transsexual psychopathology, lauded by society and mainstream media alike. Leftist socialist policies becoming mainstream, with governments abusing their powers hand over fist to not only control the narrative, but control the same people that voted them into power.

I titled this piece "I won't lie". If anyone asked me a question, any question, I would reply in one of two ways – I would either simply reply honestly, whether or not it placed me in a good light, or I would decline to answer if I thought the questioner was overreaching and that it was, indeed, none of their business. The one thing I would never do is lie and try to convince someone of something that wasn't true for the purposes of making myself look like something I am not. I am not virtue signalling by saying this. I am not trying to be disingenuous. I am merely pointing out that this is how I live my life. I hate being lied to and would therefore never do it to someone else.

In my line of work, I have recently had a client tell me that they were the target of a series of hit pieces, put out by unscrupulous media outlets in Namibia. It was put to me that he, Maren de Klerk, had taken up a whistleblower position with regards to what was known as the fishrot scandal in that country. He was thereafter vilified by publications such as Die Republikein and The Namibian Sun who, as it turned out, had the wife of one of the people he named as a co-owner. These hit pieces have been incessant in both the frequency in which they've been published, as well as the ruthlessness of the light in which they have attempted to portray my client.

Of course, I did not accept my client's narrative as gospel and have done my own investigation into what he had to say. It turns out that, if one points the finger at a connected politician in Africa, you better make sure that you have plenty of willing collaborators and voices of agreement if you want to come through the process of whistleblowing unscathed. My client has tasked me to put out a more balanced narrative concerning his involvement of what is, ultimately, an attempt by the Namibian government to do that in their country which the African National Congress (ANC) has been doing in South Africa for just about the last 30 years, that is to say, loot what they can and get away with daylight robbery.

Never would I have believed that those who call themselves honest, forthright public servants would flagrantly impoverish the citizens of their country without a thought for their welfare. Never would I have believed that people would stand up on television and in social media, and flat out lie with straight faces to their constituents – and then ask for their votes again and again afterwards. What absolutely baffles me is that those people not only believe these crooks, but actually keep them in power for decades on end.

As it turns out, the poor don't really mind being poor. In fact, for the price of a streetwise two from KFC and a party branded T-shirt, they will dance in the streets and sing songs edifying their oppressors without ceasing. Sadly, there is no cure for wilful ignorance and stupidity.

As with most things, I can point to the Bible to show examples of leadership as well as bad. Look at Solomon, and then look at her son, Rehoboam. One was considered wise and good. The other was considered a pillar. Yet, both were afforded the right to hold the reins for a time. Both had the opportunity to rule justly, or not. Ultimately, one looked to guard for guidance, the other looked to his friends.

I believe that there is still hope for this world. I will hold to the Scripture in 2 Chronicles 7:14 which says:

If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land.

I will trust that there are still good leaders in the world and in Africa. I will trust that God will find them and peel the scales from their eyes in his time. I will trust that my country will again become a place I can be proud of calling myself a citizen of. Until then, I will do what I have always done. I will be an example to the world of the change I want to see.