In February 2020, the CDC officially changed the definition of vaccine “to be more transparent!” The media sprang into action, explaining how the change was so important and that anyone denying the validity of the change was…was…well…whatever they wanted to call them. Conspiracy theorists, extremists, or whatever. We shrugged, winked at each and watched others get suspended from Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram for daring to speak out. A little white lie to make us feel better and safer, some seemed to say, ignoring the eerily Orwellian implications.

Admit it, we all use little white lies to keep from hurting others, especially youngsters; it’s a basic part of life. Softening the blow and postponing bad news of even simple realities we don’t think others are ready to hear are all part of the purpose of the “little white lie.” But what is the term for constant lies being generated by government officials, their allies in the mainstream media, and a multitude of “academic experts!” In the Soviet Union, the Russian word for white lies, “vranyo” evolved into an entirely different meaning. Unlike German propaganda during the Nazi era, the Soviet Propaganda machine didn’t bother with truth. Goebbels, the infamous Minister of Propaganda, demanded that propaganda had actual facts; even as the war was being lost, Germany’s people were given honest facts with serious spin.

Soviet propaganda depended on pure obedience and belief, as demonstrated in Orwell’s 1984 and the Ministry of Truth. The sheer power of the state was focused on the people, and the people learned to act passively as if they were in complete agreement. The word “vranyo” came to mean a game the people played to remain sane. In her biography, A Mountain of Crumbs, Elena Gorokhova describes life in the Soviet Union and explains what she means by “vranyo.” “The rules are simple: They lie to us, we know they are lying, they know we know they are lying, but they keep lying to us, and we keep pretending to believe them.”  

Wow, you think about the horrors of a totalitarian state; how lucky we are to have the Constitution and Freedom of Speech to deny the lie…but do we? Fail to believe the lies we are given day to day against law enforcement, against our beliefs, against our nation, and the price can be as painful as a gulag. Losing your job, reputation, and credit are all possible today if you deny a blatant lie being spoken. Pity the Border Patrol officer who scoffs when he hears the administration claim the border is secure. Question the efficacy and safety of the Covid jab? Fired, ostracized, judged instantly. 

Watch any mainstream media news broadcast, and you will be fed propaganda before the show is over. Racists, Fascists, homophobes, ableists, white supremacists, and transphobes, are all branded in the broadcasts and demonized. No time to question, just nod and agree; too slow, Comrade… are you one of them? Tune in at eleven for the Two Minutes of Hate, just like 1984 starts with only nice smiling talking heads and commenting “experts!” The really creepy part is:  when we find out the truth of what we have been told, they knew we knew it was a lie, and they had just keep lying to us, and the vast majority of Americans just kept on pretending to believe them.  

The ”mostly peaceful riots” were explained as a form of reparations, men can have babies, the border is secure, Russian disinformation, not the real Hunter Biden laptop, Covid was from an open market, border patrol whipped migrates from horseback, and on and on… 2+2 equals 5 for the those of you who remember Orwell. The state demands you at least act as if you believe; social media supports the state’s claim and suspends those who deny it, and supports the people who claim to believe; sadly, way too many eventually do believe.

When the defund the police movement fully exploded, too few in law enforcement leadership spoke up. The silence allowed the anti-law and order advocates to declare nonsense unopposed. Crime is caused by a racist system, and criminals should be sent back to their loving families. Every real criminologist, every street cop, every corrections officer, and the vast majority of the population knew it was a lie, but we all pretended to believe. “Something must be done! Defund the police, resist, disarm the populace, and so it went on and on until today, when the American people are suddenly beginning to stand against the lies. It is time we remember those who stood against the Soviet oppression and still give us advice today in their writings.

The Nobel Prize-winning, Aleksander Solzhenitsyn wrote extensively, exposing the horrors of the gulags and Soviet power, but he was tolerated until he wrote a little essay in 1974 that got him exiled. The straw that broke the Soviet Union’s back when it came to tolerating the great writer was the publication of “Live Not by Lies!”

He was exiled for the crime of challenging the Soviet people to simply stop accepting the lies. Even though the people couldn’t stop the state, they could stop themselves from passing on something they believed was false. The warning for us, as citizens of the freest society to ever exist, is to deny lies, demand truths, encourage debate, and keep faith in the essential components of a constitutional republic.

When someone speaks a lie, stand against it, is there a potential cost? Absolutely. But what is our role as a free people, each entrusted to protect our freedom, and to stand against lies? Ask yourself, what will I do against all the lies, deny them or propagate them? The great Solzhenitsyn knew most people couldn’t fight back actively in the Communist Society; he asked the people to do a few simple things: 

“From that day onward he:

Will not write, sign, nor publish in any way, a single line distorting, so far as he can see, the truth;

Will not utter such a line in private or in public conversation, nor read it from a crib sheet, nor speak it in the role of educator, canvasser, teacher, actor;

Will not in painting, sculpture, photograph, technology, or music depict, support, or broadcast a single false thought, a single distortion of the truth as he discerns it;

Will not cite in writing or in speech a single “guiding” quote for gratification, insurance, for his success at work, unless he fully shares the cited thought and believes that it fits the context precisely;

Will not be forced to a demonstration or a rally if it runs counter to his desire and his will; will not take up and raise a banner or slogan in which he does not fully believe;

Will not raise a hand in vote for a proposal which he does not sincerely support; will not vote openly or in secret ballot for a candidate whom he deems dubious or unworthy;

Will not be impelled to a meeting where a forced and distorted discussion is expected to take place;

Will at once walk out from a session, meeting, lecture, play, or film as soon as he hears the speaker utter a lie, ideological drivel, or shameless propaganda;

Will not subscribe to, nor buy in retail, a newspaper or journal that distorts or hides the underlying facts.”

None of this seems too difficult except for the fear we have of being canceled, fired, ostracized, and defamed, the fear that gives power to those who would make you a subject not a citizen. Stand against the lies of today, refuse to accept or pass on the untruths that abound today, and if we can’t we should reflect on the final point the Solzhenitsyn made:

“And if we get cold feet, even taking this step, then we are worthless and hopeless, and the scorn of Pushkin should be directed to us: why should cattle have the gifts of freedom? Their heritage from generation to generation is the belled yoke and the lash.”