Indeed it might well be hardwired human nature to distort the truth or omit information in the pursuit of what one might claim as a "greater good" or something "noble", or just something "innocent" and well intentioned.
I think we are all guilty of this to some degree or another.
Thus, I wonder if the question we should ask ourselves might be whether in seeking our most sacred goals a Machiavellian approach, that is "the ends justify the means", is completely moral, absolutely immoral, or the line of right and wrong is out there in the gray somewhere.
In regard to free speech and our rights under the constitution, we could start by positing that honesty is not synonymous with truth, and that reason is often treated like a naive superstition. End.
How true! How often do we use "fact" and "research" as a means of supporting our point of view, rather than using that information to increase our understanding of the issue, or challenge our own assumptions.
