This commentary is by Bob Stannard of Manchester Center. He is an author, musician and former state legislator and lobbyist.
“Don’t lie to me, don’t you lie to me / ‘Cause it makes me mad and I get shook up as a man can be”
— Tampa Red, interpreted by Chuck Berry
There was a time when a man’s word was his bond. Actually, it was most of the time. During the time of the Revolutionary War there lived a Vermont hero, Ethan Allen. Ethan was one of the original flatlanders hailing from the great state of Connecticut. His origin notwithstanding, he and his brother Ira moved to Vermont to farm.
They bought land grants from New Hampshire Gov. Benning Wentworth and went about their business. Unfortunately, the state of New York was also selling land grants for the same land, which resulted in an obvious conflict. Allen did not take kindly to having to pay two people for the same land, and thus the Green Mountain Boys were formed and the rest is history.
If you read about folks like Ethan Allen who lived during the 18th century one thing stands out: their word was their bond. Honesty and integrity was a commodity. That’s not to imply that these folks were saints and never lied, but there was a price to be paid. Dishonest people might be subjected to being tarred and feathered.
For those of you who might not be familiar with this form of punishment, it’s rather self-explanatory. The scoundrel would be painted with wood tar that was sometimes hot (that alone should have been punishment enough) and then covered with feathers. Presumably the victim would suffer nasty burns from the tar. I have no idea how the victim, in the event that he survived, removed the tar.
Growing up in the ‘50s and ‘60s it was expected that if you did something wrong or bad that you’d own up to it. Lying about whatever you did was always way worse than what you did. There was nothing more terrifying and unacceptable than lying to your parents. If you screwed up you owned it and that was that.
Those who were dishonest didn’t hang around very long in small Vermont towns. People lived and worked together. They knew each other. In the event of a catastrophe they could count on their neighbors for help if need be. People stuck together. Their bond was their honesty and integrity. It was this way in the town of Dorset where I grew up and I suspect it was the same for most, if not all Vermont towns.
The folks arriving today paying exorbitant prices for housing see Vermont for its visual beauty. It’s hard to tell if they even notice that Vermont’s real beauty is its people. I took Vermont’s scenery for granted but never would I take for granted those with whom I grew up. I had the privilege of growing up around people who if they told you that they were going to do something they did it. If they went back on their word it would get progressively harder for them to find work. Their word was their bond and the key to their success.
Over the course of 73 years we’ve seemed to have lost our best asset: our word. Today we’re treated to breathtaking lies from people who should know better. We hear leaders saying that undocumented immigrants are eating pets and that Venezuelan gangs are taking over Aurora, Colorado — neither of which is true.
We’ve witnessed a major news source, Fox News, pay a settlement of $787.5 million for intentionally lying about voting machines. Russia, China and Iran are attempting to interfere with our elections by spreading false information designed to persuade voters to vote one way or another.
Deception and lying appears to be the new norm. One of the most remarkable inventions of my lifetime is the creation of artificial intelligence. The proponents of this new technology want us to believe that AI would be used for the benefit and betterment of our world. That might be the case or it could be used to deceive and trick us.
AI has already been used to create the false impression that pop icon, Taylor Swift, endorsed a political candidate that she did not endorse at all. She has since endorsed this candidate’s opponent. A skeptical citizenry is one that is easily divided.
For the past four years Vermonters have been subjected to what has become known as “The Big Lie,” that the 2020 election was stolen. It was not. There is zero evidence that this election was anything but legitimate, but that has not halted the continued spread of this whopper.
All this misinformation and straight up lying might cause you to wonder how these folks might have fared 250 years ago. Back then, once an allegation was proven to be false there were severe consequences to be had. If you made up lies out of whole cloth you would have been ostracized and run out of town.
Perhaps it’s time to start plucking the chickens and heating up the wood tar.
Read the story on VTDigger here: Bob Stannard: ‘Don’t You Lie To Me’.