Texas is known primarily for oil production, but it's too bad there's no market for bullshit. Or, is there? I'm not saying that Texas is just a bullshit state because it's way behind some other states I'm familiar with. We're a long way behind California and maybe even states like New York, Florida, or even Mississippi. This blog is about BS, for better or worse - meaning it's about the good uses of BS, and the bad uses. First off, let's tear down the common belief that bullshit is nothing more than a lie. If someone doesn't believe what you're saying, they'll say, "That's just bullshit!" That means they're calling you a liar. The truth about bullshit is that it's often the truth disguised as . . . well, as bullshit.
The truth is sometimes a hard sell, tough to get across in a way people can understand it. In this sense, Obamacare needs some good old fashioned bullshit. Most people don't like it because they don't understand it, but lots of laws are that way. Politicians write laws, therefore the problem. Lawmakers have a language of their own, and the average person struggles with that. Apply some bullshit to it, and it can take on a language of its own. That's a good fit because most Americans think Congress itself is bullshit - bogus, untrustworthy, devious, and even crooked. They don't understand that politicians themselves don't actually produce laws in an inventive sense; they bend to the pressure of interest groups and occasionally to public opinion . . . and the easiest way to bend a politician is through offering them something. Ever heard the old expression that money talks and bullshit walks? That expression is misleading, which makes it bullshit. Money talks in America, but if you offer it to someone packaged in a thick layer of bullshit, they're more likely to take it. Bribes are illegal, but donations to elections campaigns aren't, and that's bullshit.
The goal of a good bullshitter is not to lie but rather to mislead, to confuse an issue, or to reflect attention away from something. A Republican, for instance, when ask a sticky question about social security will talk instead about family values, God, crime in the streets, and the like. He won't respond directly to the question most of the time, especially when he doesn't have an answer that will win votes. Ask a liberal about military intervention, and they talk about humanitarianism, the value of peace around the world, that sort of thing . . . and then turn around and vote to send troops to Iraq,
or wherever. That's bullshit.
I write about this topic fairly often because I'm a proficient bullshitter. I'm a storyteller, a writer of fiction, and I often tell my stories in a way that makes them sound like just more good old fashioned Texas bullshit. I even invented a particular voice for writing these stories, and people who read them say they like them. They're common sense, down to earth, folksy stories, and since they're adventure stories that sometimes border on the fantastic, they're seen as bullshit. That's fine with me because I like bullshit. I don't intend to mislead anyone, and I don't want to detract from a specific point . . . but I sure don't mind when someone thinks I'm just pulling their leg. Bullshit can be invaluable when it comes to humor. My bullshit voice, by the way, is Cletus Duhon. Look him up . . . if you want an adventure in bullshit. He's in the export business.
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