The whole CNN-Dobbs ad thing got me thinking.
It's OK apparently to fudge the truth. It's ok to lie. But let me be clear, when you fudge just a little, you lie a lot. Because a half-truth is a whole lie. The pity is that in this day and age, no one quite sees it that way.
Take this Merrill Lynch settlement.
This is about lying, without saying you were lying.
This is about analysts hawking stocks in public and deriding them in private.
This is about big names and big egos, trying to make big fools out of little people.
This is about deceit and arrogance and this is about getting away with it.
This is about never having to say you're culpable, or even sorry.
This is about covering your butt, without opening your heart.
This is about protecting your name, but not your reputation.
Because when you lie, deceive, cajole, coax and fool and pay little more than a chump change fine for a champion-size deceit, well you aren't just a survivor — you're a winner.
And society lets you be a winner.
We admire winners. We admire those who can dodge a bullet by any means.
I don't know what worries me more: the fact you can lie and get away with it, or that no one will hold you accountable because of it.
I'm naive enough to think you can make a big difference without being a little worm. That doesn't make me smart. But right about now, it does make me sad.
What do you think? Send your comments to: cavuto@foxnews.com
Watch Neil Cavuto's Common Sense weekdays at 4 p.m. ET on Your World with Neil Cavuto.
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