Hyperbole and Hamburgers

“Devotion to the truth is the hallmark of morality; there is no greater, nobler, more heroic form of devotion than the act of a man who assumes the responsibility of thinking.” ― Ayn Rand

The modern politico has countless tools at their disposal to mislead voters and score political points. In a society where the notion of objective truth takes a backseat to feelings and emotions, many would rather hyperbolize and make scary inferences, than engage in a substantive public policy debate on the merits and costs of a proposal. 

While occasional white lies and exaggerations may seem harmless, they lead to habit. Over time, these habits create a political climate in which viewpoints no longer must be tethered to facts and reason. Instead of thoroughly examining legitimate problems impacting society and proposing well-thought-out solutions, politicians often focus on sensationalizing the superficial to rile up their base.

Take for example, how politicians and activists on the right have clung to a claim from a recent Daily Mail article inferring President Biden plans to restrict American meat intake to just a single hamburger a month in order to cut back on emissions. 

While Biden’s environmental agenda is unrealistic and would likely have devastating impacts on our nation’s economy and national debt, he has never floated the notion of limiting our intake of meat. In a nation where 95% of the population eats meat, it would be political suicide and a poison pill to any legislation being considered. However, that hasn’t stopped some from tying his agenda to unrelated studies examining similar environmental goals. 

In this case, the idea came from a paper written by University of Michigan and Tulane University academics who examined “how greenhouse gas emissions would be affected if Americans hypothetically decided to change their diets in various ways, such as cutting their consumption of beef to four pounds per year.” It is important to note that the “paper does not suggest a mandatory four-pound beef limit -- and, more importantly for the purposes of this fact check, the paper is just not related to Biden's plans.”

Rather than engaging in a substantive debate about how Biden’s environmental agenda might impact energy independence, national security, economic growth, and reliability, conservatives have wasted their time and credibility opposing a policy that has not even been suggested. 

This is a nonpartisan issue. The left is no stranger to weaponized hyperbole, as their rhetoric insinuates every modern convenience is a “human right,” any increase in global temperature is a “climate crisis,” and every measure to strengthen election integrity is “voter suppression.” Worse yet, any individual, entity, or company that questions, is neutral, or even silent about any of these issues are routinely labeled as “fascists,” “racists,” or “Hitler” and quickly canceled. 

(Side note: Meanwhile, politicians like Governor Ralph Northam and Justin Trudeau that adhere to the leftist agenda get a pass when photos surface of them in blackface. Imagine the outrage if it were Donald Trump or Ron DeSantis.)

We have to stop this ever-escalating war of hyperbole and lies. We have to stop allowing the political elite to distract us from the actual issues by playing to our animal instincts and proclivity for outrage. We must demand truth.

Honesty is something we all struggle with. In an era of seemingly endless permanence and zero forgiveness, it is not surprising so many of us choose the path of least resistance and choose the lie. It is easier to tell a white lie and avoid confronting a difficult truth than it is to come face-to-face with your demons head-on.

That is just on the individual level. Imagine the collective psychological impact of living under a political system constructed around avoiding difficult truths and kicking real problems down the road. 

The truth is uncomfortable. It is often inconvenient. It can hurt our feelings. It can shatter our idealized images of our heroes and institutions. And yet… without honesty, our country will never be able to unify and move forward by identifying and solving the many pressing issues impacting our nation. Or we can just keep arguing about hyperbole and hamburgers.