Frog or Fraud?

 When I was in first grade, my big sister researched PT Barnum and wrote additional songs for a school musical version of the show which was on Broadway at the time. I was sooooo proud of her,l— how she took the circus theme song and turned it into a show tune, how she was so confident on stage as the Bearded Lady, and how her songs had such impressive vocabulary.

One of the songs, I thought, was about a frog. Remember, I was only six, and so I was at a deficit of background knowledge. To my little girl mind, her lyrics were: “I don’t believe you, you are a frog. I paid my money when I was born. You are all phonies, I know it’s true. I liked it Mister, and so will you.”

I wasn’t sure why there was a frog in there. But I knew Kermit was a newscaster. And I also knew more Emily Dickinson than your average kid. I knew that it was dreary like a frog to “tell your name the livelong day to an admiring bog”.

So putting those facts together, I assumed that Barnum was like a fake newscaster who was getting bored.

It wasn’t long before I learned that I had it all wrong. The song wasn’t about a frog, after all. Liz’s lyrics were: “I don’t believe you; you are a fraud.”

That was when I learned the word “fraud”. It must have affected me profoundly because after that, I started having my imposter syndrome recurrent nightmare. I began waking up thinking I had been paying with clown money instead of real bills. I began wondering if the Hebrew Nana was teaching me was a real language or if it was just an experiment to see how much you could get a kid to believe.

Years later, I still feel the impact of Liz’s Talent Pool show. It paved the way for me to connect with Frank and Jerry, my life mentors/friends. It paved the way for me to compose my own music and create my own musical adaptations. And… it made me know I didn’t want to be a “fraud.” I value the genuine. To this day, I do not have a poker face. And no, I’m not playing cards….

When people use the word “fraud”, it leads to an emotional reaction. Many will take such accusations at face value; they don’t look to see where the truth lies, and what lies behind the need to belittle.

The truth doesn’t lie— but when leaders create a distrust in the media, in the government, in the people— the truth gets hidden. The same people who took claims of “fraud” at face value often choose not to look at the primary sources or check the facts. They stop thinking for themselves and then the truth becomes diluted. Truth seekers become disempowered. The bedrock of society shifts.

Barnum wanted to make a fortune with his circus; his name outlived him not only his family wealth but also in lyrics such as: “it’s a Barnum and Bailey world, just as phony as it can be…but it wouldn’t be make believe if you believed in me…” He was known not just for the three-ringed attractions but also for his hoaxes and…yes…his work as a politician.

I’ve always been a fan of Anna Quindlen, especially of her essays which used to be on the back page of Time Magazine. Though I have never had the fortune of meeting her in person, back at the turn of this century, Mom met her and gave her a message for me: I wanted Anna Quindlen to run for president. Her answer? Nope. She would be too honest for that role.

Some people say that you should believe this president— he is trying to do all the outrageous stuff he said he planned to do. Even if we thought he was just mouthing off— much of what he claimed to want to do, he is doing.

Some people say that every accusation he makes is a confession. Remember the emails? Remember “lock her up?”

I don’t know what to make about this barrage of extremism that fills my newsfeeds. But I do know this: the use of the word “frog”— no, I mean “Fraud”— is calculated. If the general populace distrusts the media, then they won’t believe it when a little boy (or Reuters journalist) shows you that the emperor is wearing no clothes….

By the way, Barnum was very savvy. He knew that his museum was getting crowded so he lured people to the exit with an exciting sign indicating the “egress”. Most people didn’t know that vocabulary word meant “exit”. They followed the sign and left the building. If they wanted to return, they would have to pay. It was legal…people were only following the signs he posted very clearly.

It was legal, but he played upon the general public’s gullible (and lazy) nature.

Moral of the story: think, fact check, and be truthful….