There are small lies and big lies. When you’re a child, secretly eating a snack and then denying it out of fear of getting scolded by your mom is a cute little lie, whereas intentionally defrauding someone, causing them immense harm, and then denying it is an unforgivable big lie. While that standard may vary depending on each person’s moral compass, whenever I catch glimpses of the political world in the media, I can’t help but feel a bitter sense of doubt: just how far do the standards for lying extend among some public officials and politicians?
Not long ago, a family I know came to visit our home. They went beyond simply expressing strong opposition to the COVID-19 vaccine and the government’s pandemic response policies at the time; they also shared various unfiltered conspiracy theories circulating online and engaged in a heated discussion. I, too, have personal curiosities and reasonable doubts—based on logical inference—regarding the commercial mechanisms of global pharmaceutical companies and the policy missteps that emerged during the unprecedented pandemic response.
However, I do not unconditionally reject government policies as a whole, nor do I hold the extreme view that world leaders, including those in government, are orchestrating some kind of organized and immoral conspiracy. I simply hope that the truth will now be clearly revealed regarding the various overseas reports and testimonies suggesting the possibility of a viral leak from research facilities funded by global health authorities, and I hope that individuals’ autonomy and freedom of choice regarding personal hygiene and health will no longer be excessively infringed upon.
In this global era, questions persist among both the academic community and the general public regarding whether complete herd immunity across borders is realistically possible, and to what extent the testing methods available at the time could accurately detect a constantly mutating virus. This brings to mind the so-called “BCG vaccine,” which the entire population received in childhood under the pretext of preventing tuberculosis. While that vaccine left deep scars on the shoulders of a significant number of people at the time, were they truly completely safe from tuberculosis thanks to that shot? It is true that I feel conflicted whenever I hear of occasional side effects or tragic incidents where a causal relationship is difficult to prove, as it is hard to justify the entire vaccination process based solely on the fact that “there was no major outbreak of infection.”
If someone presents absurd claims or blatant lies from the start, the public can easily spot them; however, it becomes extremely difficult to discern the truth when a trustworthy figure skillfully interweaves factual information with falsehoods. Although language that mixes truth and falsehood can never amount to the whole truth, people are often swayed because they generally prioritize emotions and personal relationships over reason. Perhaps it is a case of blind faith—the hope that the words of the leader one supports are unconditionally true—and personal expectations that cloud one’s judgment. There may be an underlying public psychology at play where, once people support a particular camp, they want to place unlimited trust in all the policies that camp promotes, seeking psychological comfort or personal gain through that belief.
If even the top officials making policy decisions were misled by incomplete information—or if they implemented such complex public health policies based on political considerations—how should ordinary citizens like us respond? While I can somewhat understand the government’s administrative stance at the time—that it had no choice but to recommend vaccines purchased in bulk through contracts with pharmaceutical companies to the entire population—the logic that an early-generation vaccine would provide perfect protection against a virus that had already mutated multiple times became increasingly difficult to sell to the public as time went on. It’s also unclear how the expiration dates and post-distribution management of all those vaccines are being handled.
The words spewed by politicians ahead of election season may simply be the usual rhetoric. But I can’t help but see our unfortunate reality—surrounded by countless statements, ranging from small lies to big ones, that obscure the truth. I, too, take a deep look within myself to see if I’m unknowingly falling for a certain narrative or if I’m only viewing the world through the lens of what I want to believe. Quietly sorting through my thoughts, I leave home at 4:30 a.m. once again today, cutting through the cold air to start my day.
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