Stacking Paper

Insider trading--colluding with sources who hold crucial information about coming trends in the stock market or in sound investments in order to reap massive reward with less risk--has been the bane of many public figures. Hedge fund managers from SAC in 2013 and Rajat Gupta have felt the effects of getting caught with their pants around their ankles. More notably, Hillary Rodham Clinton was accused of tangling with the same legal grey area. With the help of James Blair, a Tyson Foods Company lawyer, she was able to "[net] $100,000 through trading." While this doesn't entail much blatant lying, this is considered dishonest by most everyone informed enough to understand the complexity of such dealings. This is a very unique brand of lie--one that Ericsson didn't seem to touch on. This is collusion and distortion. Hillary Clinton hid behind a curtain of illegality and likely delusion, one that Ericsson was able to aptly explain. While it's generally accepted that Clinton dealt with insider trading, she received no more than a slap on the wrist, as official charges were never brought on, demonstrating the ease of which lies are committed when backed by cold hard cash. Clinton may have victimized the stock market or competitors, but they remained faceless, whereas Bernie Madoff had a profound impact on many American lives, thus, he was made into a pariah and a criminal (I'm not saying he wasn't a criminal by any means) on a grander scale. To return to the matter at hand, however, it appears that lying, while it is a global occurrence that may forever be unavoidable, yields far different results depending on the nature of the lie and the perpetrator's status. Hillary Clinton is a beloved political figure in many households of the United States, (and a not-so-beloved figure in others) so naturally, she had a support group behind her, defending her actions. Clinton supporters seemed to deny the accusations--guilty of lies themselves. Denial, delusion--whatever you label it as, it's a rejection of the truth. The same way conspiracy theorists formulate ridiculous notions that the government caused 9/11, Obama is a space reptile using mind control on the American people, or that the lovable Disney classic Aladdin is set in a post-apocalyptic future, many Americans were content to believe Clinton never committed insider trading. Due to Clinton's already strong reputation among many Americans, it appears it was easier for her to conceal and justify her actions and deflect accusations that appeared to be true.