The Art of the Lie

Ahhh the Lie. A simple three letter word that can change the world.

Simply defined by Websters a lie is;

Noun

1. a false statement made with deliberate intent to deceive; an intentional untruth; a falsehood.

Synonyms: prevarication, falsification.

How can this tiny little word do so much damage, change so many lives and tarnish the images of people we hold in high regard. Before I go any further I would like to quote one of the wisest men to have ever graced the television airwaves. His name, Mr. George Costanza. His quote “Jerry, just remember, it's not a lie if you believe it”. 

My question is do we honestly (odd word to use in the scenario) believe our own lies or those told to us?

Point in case, during my tenure in art school as an aspiring photographer I showed my teacher a photo of the Ridgewood train station. “Tom, I just printed this photo of the train station, what do you think”? Tom, in his very thick British accent replied “very nice”. Maybe it was the accent but “very nice” from him turned into “My god, this is incredible, you have captured the majesty, the mystery the aura of serenity all in this special moment, there's a Pulitzer in this one for you” or so I believed as I merrily skipped away to continue my photo history of the Erie Lackawana Railroad.

The reality of the “very nice” was as I found out a few days later from a fellow student went something like this, “If that fucking kid shows me one more bloody photo of that god damn train station I'm going to tie his arse (the British say arse) up, lay him on the tracks, call him Pauline and wait for the next train to spread him from here to Manahttan”'

That of course is an example of believing a lie, as is the ever popular “SPEEDING!!! What do you mean officer, I wasn't speeding, what about the guy in front of me, now he was speeding, as a matter of fact I was just a bout to dial 911 and report him, I think he had guns, I'm sure I saw a foot sticking out of the trunk, I was just trying to stay with him until the authorities could catch up, look he's getting away”. “DRINKING!! Now way, I only had two beers all night, go ask the bartender”'

But recently there has been a gentleman in the news who obviously suffers from a severe case of Costanzaitits. “Tommy, just remember, it's not a lie if you believe it”.

Tom Brady now stands among The greatest liars of all time, Mr. I did not have sex, Bill Clinton, Mr. Weapons of mass destruction, George W. Bush, Mr. I never did steroids, Alex Rodriguez, Mr. We don't torture detainees, Dick Cheney and Mr. I am not a crook, Richard Nixon, and has become the newest member of “it's not a lie if you believe it club”.

Now I'm not calling Tom a cheater as many have. Actually I don't care about that at all. Players have been looking for an advantage over one another ever since Spiros whacked Achilles in the heel during the first ever 100 yard dash. It doesn't matter that Tom conspired to let air out of footballs, if you read the tabloids you'd know that ever since Tom has been married to Giselle he's had deflated balls.

My issue is “Tommy, just remember, it's not a lie if you believe it”, and I am sure that Tom believes that he didn't coax two lackeys to let the air out of the balls, that he didn't text them after they did it, that he really does need a new cell phone every six months and that his lie is more harmful to the game than the shenanigans he purported with the footballs.

If we believe in what the cherry tree did for George Washington, then sometimes we have to suck it up, look someone in the eye and say “hey kid your photo sucks”.