TJ WALKER - THE HABIT INFLUENCER - Personal Development | LIVE STREAM

29 Nov 2016 · 3 min

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2:45

Short live-stream monologue by TJ Walker recorded while on a morning walk in downtown Silver Spring. Walker reflects on media ethics, arguing that contemporary audiences often prefer lies to truth, expresses concern this preference threatens democratic institutions, and closes with a rueful return to his coffee. The tone is reflective and pessimistic about recent trends in public discourse.

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Hi. Good morning. I'm going for a morning walk, having a cup of coffee. I'm in downtown Silver Spring, right outside of Washington, D.C. really pretty town. Great restaurants, excellent choice. Every kind of Thai, ethnic, Ethiopian, Vietnamese restaurant within half a block of where I'm staying in downtown. Just reflecting on the state of the world these days and the media, and unfortunately, coming to the very sad conclusion that indeed, it's better to tell lies than to tell the truth when you're speaking to the media. Now, I don't advocate people lying. I try to help clients behave in an ethical way by coming up with the best possible message to communicate in their speeches and their media interviews. And in the long term, I believe that's the best thing to do for many reasons. But unfortunately, I can no longer honestly tell people that it's bad to lie tactically. Traditionally, that's been the standard mantra of media. Never lie. If you're caught lying, you'll destroy your credibility, destroy your campaign. If you're in politics, destroy your business. But what we're now seeing in the United States and increasingly in democracies around the world, is that people like lies. Lies are preferable to truth. I wish that weren't the case, but it, in fact is a reality. And I do think that it spells, if not guaranteed, doom for democracy. It does spell a lot of trouble. Traditionally, political scientists have theorized that once a society turns to liberal democracy, too many institutions get settled in. You can't really revert back to autocracy, dictatorship, military. But as we're seeing at home and abroad, those theories are now crumbling. So what's my advice to you? I cannot in good conscience tell you. Just lie. Say whatever it takes. Say whatever you think people want to hear. But I also can't in good conscience tell you. Just speak the truth and the truth went out. Because unfortunately, that's not true anymore. Sorry to sound like a downer on a. A rainy Tuesday morning, but I think I'll go back to my coffee. Hope you do the same.