The Big Lie
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[edit] Definition
The Big Lie is a lie so colossal that many people could not imagine anyone as having the audacity to say it if it were not true.
[edit] Examples
- Germany lost the World War due to a Jewish propaganda campaign.[1]
- The name of the rock group KISS is an acronym for Knights In Satan's Service.[2]
- The U.S. Federal income tax is voluntary; the average American does not actually have to pay it. [3]
- Frank Zappa and Alice Cooper had a "gross-out" contest during which they ate fecal matter on stage.[4]
- You can bend a key with the power of your mind.[5]
[edit] Quotations
- All this was inspired by the principle - which is quite true in itself - that in the big lie there is always a certain force of credibility; because the broad masses of a nation are always more easily corrupted in the deeper strata of their emotional nature than consciously or voluntarily; and thus in the primitive simplicity of their minds they more readily fall victims to the big lie than the small lie, since they themselves often tell small lies in little matters but would be ashamed to resort to large-scale falsehoods. It would never come into their heads to fabricate colossal untruths, and they would not believe that others could have the impudence to distort the truth so infamously. Even though the facts which prove this to be so may be brought clearly to their minds, they will still doubt and waver and will continue to think that there may be some other explanation. For the grossly impudent lie always leaves traces behind it, even after it has been nailed down, a fact which is known to all expert liars in this world and to all who conspire together in the art of lying. These people know only too well how to use falsehood for the basest purposes. --Adolf Hitler, Mein Kampf
[edit] Discussion
In order for the Big Lie to be truly successful, it should appeal to some emotional need. It also helps to repeat the lie frequently, lest the audience be given time to think. Once it is communicated to a person, it can become self-sustaining. Susceptibility to the Big Lie is more common than most people will admit to.
A large number of urban legends and paranormal and pseudoscientific claims are Big Lies.
In its extreme cases, the Big Lie can be classified as a mental disorder. An example is the idee fixe of schizophrenics, who can construct an elaborate rational system on top of one big whopper of a lie.
[edit] Exceptions to the Rule
There is a joke that demonstrates people's susceptibility to the Big Lie. Ask a person, "Did you know that 'gullible' is not in the dictionary?" A surprisingly large number of people will look up the word in the dictionary. Even more will argue with you, at least indicating that they take the lie far more seriously than is healthy. The Big Lie can therefore be used to immunize people against the Big Lie.
Not all big statements are lies, of course. Many ideas supported by science, such as Relativity and Quantum Mechanics, seem as outlandish as any Big Lie.
[edit] Related Links
[edit] Further Reading
Mein Kampf by Adolf Hitler [6]
