2018 – 6th Grade National 3rd Place Winner

Noah Wong, Illinois.

Deceit has a larger impact on society than truth. People must trust each other in order to work together. Without trust, humans can’t get anything done because they don’t believe what others are saying. In recent history deceit has weakened our society by leading to sar, the resignation of a President, and the current problem of “fake news.”

One example of deceit having a large impact on society was the invasion of Iraq. Saddam Hussein built missile facilities to give people the impression that Iraq had nuclear weapons when Iraq had none. The U.S. decided to launch an invasion of Iraq because of Hussein’s deception even though the inspectors did not find any nuclear weapons. The invasion lead to the death of thousands of people. The decision to invade Iraq based on weak information and Saddam’s deception has caused American citizens to be more suspicious of the government’s judgement regarding use of the military.

Another example of the large impact deceit has on society was the Watergate scandal. In the 1970’s President Richard Nixon directed illegal activities in connection with his reelection campaign. When the activities were discovered President Nixon tried to cover up his actions by being deceitful. Congress investigated President Nixon, which lead to his resignation. The American public lost trust in elected officials and the government.

A final example of deceit having a large impact on society is the spread of “fake news.” The 2016 presidential election was influenced by false stories created by Russians disguised as Americans. The false reports were targeted to play on people’s biases. People cast their votes in part relying on “fake news.” After the election, the uncovering of the Russian fake news has caused confusion on what news can be trusted. Unfortunately “fake news” has become an attack on trusted sources of news such as major newspapers and television networks. Voting and a free press are two key parts of American democracy, which deceitful “fake news” weakened.

Overall I believe that deceit has a larger impact on society than truth. The examples described above show how harmful deceit can be. Saddam Hussein lead people to believe that Iraq had nuclear weapons and the U.S. government lead people to believe they had confirmed Saddam’s false claims, which lead to the deaths of thousands of people. During Watergate President Nexon’s lies caused the American people to distrust their leaders. Finally, the attack on the American media from “fake news” diminishes the American democracy because people cast their votes based on false information and now do not know what news reports are trustworthy.

 

 

Kids Philosophy Slam Home Page