Have you ever noticed that liars are sometimes in the best position to tell certain truths? Donald Trump promised to move the Embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. And he did. How did such a terrible plan make it all the way to fruition? In no small part, it was because Trump is America’s liar laureate. It’s simple, really. When you constantly utter falsehoods, people learn to expect such. Then, when you say something outrageous, it is easy for them to brush it off as just another crazy lie.

This phenomenon is ubiquitous, though sometimes it appears in different guises. It isn’t always due to being a liar that one is in a special position to tell a terrible truth. Sometimes it is enough for one to be unimportant or somewhat disliked.

‘The devil’ is a somewhat misleading turn of phrase, because it implies that there is a unique being and that is the devil. But, of course, there are many devils out there. There are purveyors of fakes news and disinformation operatives. There are rapists and murderers. There are slavers and CEOs of corporations that destroy villages around the world and that poison the ocean indiscriminately. And, there is as well a more benign version of the devil. Look in the mirror. Is it you?