Selling Lies: The Story of the Greatest Lie Ever Told
(eBook)

What happens to a society when lying becomes as common as breathing and is no longer considered wrong? "Selling Lies" describes such a world where lying has become morally acceptable behavior. This is a tale of political intrigue, daring risks, media deception, legendary romance, and hope for redemption. To mirror society's acceptance of lying, lawmakers have passed the necessary legislation to reflect lying as a new social norm. Now anyone can misrepresent, counterfeit, defraud, libel, or forge legally in a myriad of ways. Busy, every-day Americans can now lie without any consequences as the elite have for eons. The public is able to purchase tailor-made lies and reasonably outsource their execution to expert liars. The world's newest product craze hits the market: manufactured lies. An adventurous young salesman enters the promising industry of selling lies. Using the truths embedded in the myths of ancient Greece, he argues in his sales pitch that Western Civilization owes its laws and political structure to the great ancient Greek thinkers who were immersed in a society of lies - of myths. Furthermore, he argues that the tenants of truth, justice and equality were propelled through the ages with the help of lies and myths. While trying to convince a brilliant young lawyer of the merits of lying and to encourage her to join the rest of society in normalizing the behavior, he uses the romance found in the most amorous Greek myths to try also to convince her to fall in love with him. She, on the other hand, staunchly refutes lying as a new social norm. While successfully resisting the immense pressure from family, friends and society to no longer consider lying as morally wrong, she struggles to avoid falling in love with this man who is in the business of selling lies. As their relationship progresses, the couple develops a penchant for challenging each other to share in daring, uncalculated risks. With the world around her slipping into total dishonesty, she takes comfort in her only trustworthy friend remaining, her golden retriever "Flirt." Meanwhile, the ambitious salesman convinces a respected United States Senator to launch the greatest lie ever told. Rationalizing the social good the lie will do, the senator agrees - for a price. Still remembering just one generation ago when lying was considered unethical, the senator is emotionally tormented by the enormous lie he has told for a noble cause at the expense of his loved ones' trust. He is astonished, however, when the supposed beneficial lie he has unleashed instead brings America to the brink of civil war. A media concerned more with profits than veracity spreads the lie with such conviction that soon the whole world is conned and America is thrown into anarchy. Like an incurable virus, nothing seems capable of stopping the lie from destroying America as hatred consumes the nation. Only as the story concludes do the lawyer, salesman, and senator uncover the intertwining relationships among themselves and the lie. Do their choices avert the breakup of America, or does society continue to descend into an abyss of lies?