A person who lies to you IS NOT YOUR FRIEND.
If he is compelled to lie to you
that shows he is regarding you as an adversary, an opponent.
At that point the action for you is
to KNOW he is NOT you friend and treat him accordingly.
How did America — how does any people — get caught up in this nasty self destructive habit?
The bible, at least, has an explanation. It does not flatter us. If this were the end of the story we would sail right on to hell (having already embraced it in a death grip while here).
Conservatives can come up with lies too, incidentally — oversimplifications of complex history that are checkered, not pure black or pure white. Due to Judeo-Christian tradition embodied therein, they are not as severe as those of the godless. A reverence for God tends to push people in the direction of honesty. But even then all people have a lying problem, the question is only how mild or severe it is.
... that IS checkered ...