Confident deceivers

Photo by Usman Yousaf

As much as I hate to admit it, confident liars are running our world. Why? Because we let them.

Yes, all of us—to varying extent.

One of the most insidious tactics employed by these deceivers is gaslighting.

It’s rather easy to manipulate those less assured in their convictions into thinking that the one with the more assertive facade has the truth on their side. Too often, in the face of such aggression, we retreat, ceding ground to the confidence rather than scrutinizing the substance. We let them take the win, or stop pushing back. Yet, if we compare by facts alone, it’s quite possible that we are the ones who have far more substance to back our positions.

Our hesitancy stems not from a lack of substance, but rather from a healthy dose of skepticism and doubt—a quality notably absent in our adversaries. This unwavering self-assurance, though effective in swaying the opinions of others, paradoxically blinds them to the truth for it remains unexamined fully.

Comp…