HARLAN RICHARDS

The Boy (President) Who Cried Wolf

March 28, 2017

All Americans know the story of the boy who cried "wolf." It is a moral tale intended to teach children to tell the truth and not raise false alarms. The boy, a shepherd minding sheep alone in the pastures above his village, wanted to test whether the villagers really would come to his aid if wolves attacked the sheep.

He hollered "wolf" and the villagers dropped what they were doing and rushed up the mountain to save the sheep. Upon arriving and finding out if it was a false alarm, they chastised the boy and headed back to their village. Once again, the boy cried "wolf" when there was no wolf. The villagers once again ran up the mountain to rescue the sheep. This time, they were very angry with the boy for making them run up the mountain for another false alarm. The third time the boy cried "wolf," there really was a wolf but nobody paid any attention to him. The wolf attacked the sheep and the boy.

Donald Trump is the boy who cried wolf. He has repeatedly made false claims to alarm people, knowing that the claims he made were false. His worst claim was that Obama "wiretapped" Trump Tower when he was running for president. He had no evidence to back up his claim. He threw it out there to take the focus off all the contacts his campaign workers had with the Russians. It worked: it deflected everyone's attention onto him and his lack of credibility.

Any future claim by him will be regarded by most people with skepticism. His supporters will believe whatever he says. The rest of us know he has no regard for the truth. He will say or do whatever is expedient. He cannot be trusted—not as a president, not as a business man, and not as a fellow human being. The sooner he is impeached, the better off we'll all be.