Las Vegas Sun

March 29, 2024

letters to the editor:

Past offers honesty about trustworthiness

Congratulations on publishing Nicholas Kristof’s article on Hillary Clinton (Las Vegas Sun, April 28). I am reminded of Joseph Goebbels, the Reich minister of propaganda in Nazi Germany from 1933-45. His ministry often directed false statements toward enemies of the Reich with such vehemence and forceful consistency that the victims themselves of such hatred began to think they were guilty and even readily confessed to such “crimes.”

This can be referred to as the Goebbels effect not necessarily in politics, but even in science and technology. In fact, I have met senior German professors in the early 1960s who then still believed Einstein stole Max Planck theories!

Based on PolitiFact numbers, the percentages of statements by each presidential candidate rated to be “true” or “mostly true” are: John Kasich, 52 percent; Clinton, 50 percent; Sanders, 49 percent; Cruz, 22 percent; and Trump, 9 percent, as stated in your paper. I hope CNN and Fox will read these figures and confront those who repeatedly call Hillary dishonest, as otherwise the Goebbels effect may take effect and ultimately justify Trump’s election.

In the last 50 years I have worked in seven universities and two industries in four countries, and rarely have I seen people, including yours truly, who exceeded the 52 percent Kasich benchmark for honesty.

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