We've all seen George Carlin's take on the government, right?

And yeah, we've all laughed at it. But much as I love George - and he was hands down my favorite comedian ever -- I think he used the wrong word.

It's not that you shouldn't believe anything the government says. It's that you shouldn't trust the government.

See, a good liar does not actually lie all the time. In fact, a great liar lies as little as possible, not least because the goal isn't "to be a liar," but "to hold power."

Someone who lies 100% of the time is actually, in the end, incredibly trustworthy. If I know you're a liar and I ask you which path I should take, I know to just do the opposite of what you say¹.

But a great liar will often tell you the truth. Not necessarily the whole truth, but if the truth is the thing that helps keep them in power, they'll go with it. The truth can (often) be verified, so the more they control you with truth, the more you're likely to eventually stop checking. If I've told you the truth 100 times in a row and you've checked my work each time, you're eventually going to get complacent and just accept that I'm honest.

That's what the government (and also a ton of corporations and religious institutions, not to mention individual con artists, including a lot of online political "influencers") rely on. Then they throw in the half-truths, or bad conclusions drawn from true facts. Poverty, starvation, and debt all exist, so surely their solutions are worthwhile! The lie will be some small assumption or theory or bad data buried in the larger plan, and unravelling it is the trick.

So yeah, I may believe something the government says, or at least be willing to verify and accept it, but that doesn't mean I trust their conclusion or motivation.

(And yeah, in terms of current events, they've clearly made some truthful statements about Samurai. It's possible that all the factually verifiable statements are true. It's their conclusion and the actions that spring from them that's where the dishonestly lies.)