| "Fake it till you make it." I've said the phrase before — to myself and others — as an antidote to the gripping anxiety of imposter syndrome. But I've never considered where it came from. In her latest column, Helaine Olen introduces us to Glenn W. Turner, a con man who used the phrase like marching orders to his sales team in the 1970s. He told them they should wear flashy clothes and wave $100 bills around to persuade customers to invest in his "Dare to Be Great" program so that they, too, could become rich. The hopeful usage of the phrase creates space for people to muddle along until they develop the skills or confidence to realize their potential. But, as Olen writes, "there's a dark side baked into the 'fake it' mentality: the fakers who attempt to win success through fraud, then never make good on their promises." The cynical usage sadly has become part of the ethos of American society, from Washington to Silicon Valley. Olen grapples with how we got here, and whether the mentality has gone too far. It's well worth a read and a reflection: Are you psyching yourself up or telling a lie, and do you care who you're helping or hurting along the way? The history of a huckster offers a lesson here, if we want to heed it. By Helaine Olen ● Read more » | | | | If the case raises the specter of an overreaching president abusing emergency powers, it also evokes fears of an imperial judiciary. By Ruth Marcus ● Read more » |    | | | Is the e-bike hubbub really about trail degradation and earning your outings, or is it just a sly means of trying to exclude newcomers? I'm not sure. By Maddy Butcher ● Read more » | | | | Stakes for patients and pharmaceutical companies are bigger than one pill or process. By Greer Donley and Rachel Sachs ● Read more » | | | | | Is the Black Lives Matter movement a success? Answering that first requires understanding how it's not like its predecessor. By Perry Bacon Jr. ● Read more » | | | | To ease tensions, the president should lean into his strengths as a leader — and call Xi Jinping. By David Ignatius ● Read more » | | | | | Here are side-by-side assessments of both works. (Hint: This book is no "Cocaine Bear.") By Alexandra Petri ● Read more » | | | | Congress agrees on the need for a more diverse marketplace and a stronger FDA. The real test is whether lawmakers act. By Alyssa Rosenberg ● Read more » | | | | | |
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