Who's the Liar?

"You're a liar" has taken on a dizzying number of definitions lately, including but not limited to:

 •  I have a different opinion.
 •  I have a different interpretation of the facts.
 • I have my doubts about your source of information.
 • I don't like what you're saying.
 • I don't like you.
 • I can't refute your point.
 • You irritate me.
 • I don't understand you.
 • I hate you.
 • I disagree with you.
 • You’re scaring me.
 • I desperately hope you’re wrong.
 • I don’t want anyone else to listen to you.
 • You appear to have changed your mind.
 • You seem to be contradicting yourself.
 • You're mistaken.
 • You made a slip of the tongue.
 • That's not what I heard.
 • Somebody else says you're a liar.

A liar is a person who tells lies, untrue statements made with intent to deceive. No one who does not demonstrably fit that description should be called a liar, and wisdom demands that we call no one a liar on the basis of hearsay. Otherwise we risk becoming not only liars but also gossips and slanderers.

We can do better.