Große Lüge~The Big Lie

The insidious power of propaganda, disinformation, and suppression of the truth that underpins authoritarianism.

Writing in Mein Kampf, Adolf Hitler coined the phrase “Große Lüge,” The Big Lie.

Hitler used his big lies to attack the free press, condemn Jews, dismiss intellectuals, and scorn homosexuals. He believed that if he consistently fed deliberately outrageous lies to the masses, many would swallow them whole, become consumed with outrage, and bend to his will.

He was right. Hence, the flames of hatred burned across Germany, and WWII and the Holocaust ensued.

Throughout history, the first order of business for emperors and kings, dictators and despots, authoritarians and autocrats, is to wage a full-blown war against the truth. The media is disparaged, deprecated, belittled, and ultimately muzzled. Endless streams of propaganda and disinformation take the place of facts.

Those who fail to fall in line are marginalized, punished, incarcerated, and even executed for having the temerity to speak out.

“Four hostile newspapers are more to be feared than a thousand bayonets.” - Emperor Napolean Bonaparte (1769-1821)

Three centuries later, U.S. Senator John McCain responded to a tweet in which Donald Trump called the media “the enemy of the American people” by warning that suppressing the free press was “how dictators get started.”

Hundreds of journalists are currently being held as political prisoners worldwide in countries including China, Syria, Myanmar, Egypt, Israel, Vietnam, Belarus, Russia, North Korea, Afghanistan, India, Venezuela, and Nigeria.

Nine women journalists in Azerbaijan marked International Women’s Day behind bars or under house arrest this month amid the government’s relentless crackdown on critics.

In October 2018, American-based journalist Jamal Khashoggi, a critic of the Saudi monarchy, was murdered and then hacksawed to pieces inside the Saudi consulate in Istanbul, Turkey.

In February 2024, outspoken political activist Alexei Navalny, who was imprisoned, tortured, and poisoned during his decades of opposition to Vladimir Putin, died in a Siberian prison. One of Navalny’s most notable quotes is, “Life makes no sense if you have to tolerate endless lies. I will never accept this system, which is built on lies, I will not stop my fight against this junta.”

There are many more such stories, more journalists and courageous dissidents who have been imprisoned, disappeared, or killed, and scores whose fate we may never know. It is a horrible price paid for speaking truth to power. Yet silence is not an option for those who value freedom.

This is why a free press is called the Fourth Pillar of Democracy. Only a well-informed citizenry with unfettered access to factual information can make reasoned decisions at the ballot box. Without the truth being spoken, our leaders will not be held accountable… and soon there will be no ballot box.

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Postscript: Stand strong, speak out, and take skillful action with a unified voice. Here are a few suggestions:

• Form a closely knit group that is like-minded, focused, and dedicated to taking action.

• Support local, statewide, and national leaders who are standing up for democracy and our Constitution.

• Call your representatives in the House and Senators and remind them of their oath to protect our Constitution and defend the United States against all enemies, foreign or domestic.

• Always speak your truth.

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