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The Black and White

The Student News Site of Walt Whitman High School

The Black and White

The Student News Site of Walt Whitman High School

The Black and White

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March 21, 2024

Exploring lying

Did you know that I’ve never told a lie? All my life, I’ve always tried to tell the absolute truth. I’ve never told a lie to benefit myself, or to benefit others. And that’s the truth.

In case you haven’t noticed, people like me don’t really exist. Now, I usually don’t like to use absolutes, but I think I can make an exception here and say that everyone has told a lie at some point.

The truth is that you can’t expect the truth. And why should you? Lying is a natural phenomenon. A study conducted in 2002 by the University of Massachusetts found that 60 percent of adults can’t have a ten-minute conversation without lying at least once.

In many cases, lying is Route A. Evolution demands that you look out for number one. Given the opportunity to stave off harm and benefit yourself—both common products of lying—you will most likely take it. Plus, it’s healthy to lie every once in a while. Scientist have proven that lying reflects cognitive development. It takes a certain amount of finesse and guile to lie successfully.

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So if everyone does it, then why do we still make such a big deal of it every time it happens?

We as a society love to denounce liars and wring them out to dry. We shouldn’t blame people for telling small lies. We tell one little lie and suddenly we’re facing a massive inquiry. It’s an all-out witch hunt to expose the fib, and everyone’s involved.

Society’s obsession with the truth is a fundamentally good thing. But this obsession is also incredibly hypocritical. We’re the quickest to admonish the liar, yet last to admit our own faults. There’s little to no empathy when it comes to accepting liars.

Just look at what happened to Tom Brady. This punishment was merely NFL’s appeal to societal purists in the hope that this act would reflect the integrity of the NFL. Brady’s punishment stems more from the belief that he lied to the public than the idea that any illegal actions he may have committed.

In many cases, it almost seems like the best thing to do when accused of lying is drop down on your knees and repent your sins—even if you were telling the truth. Society accepts the liar who atones for his vices more than the truth teller who appears guilty.

Many times, lying is nothing more than harmless mistake. A classic example of this is inflating or exaggerating stories. Often in communication, especially verbal, we tend to get caught up in the story that we’re telling and that little rush of blood to our heads manifests in our speech. It’s natural to slip into this trap of self-inflation. But the backlash received from this lie is often very harsh, and accusations like “arrogant” and “pompous” are thrown around vehemently.

Don’t misunderstand me—I’m not condoning lying as acceptable social behavior.

At some point, you’re going to have to face the fact that you will be lied to for the rest of your life. It’s cynical, no doubt, but unfortunately, it’s true. If you raise a riot every time someone lies to you, people won’t ever want to talk to you. In the case of the tiniest and whitest of white lies, it is best to simply do as The Beatles do, and let it be.

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    Greg ThomasJun 22, 2015 at 9:25 am

    That is utter nonsense. I don’t lie, and my friends and family don’t lie about anything of any significance. In the very questionable report on the very questionable search, it was reported that “Some participants were told to try to make themselves appear likable. Others were told to appear competent.” I would say “try to appear” means “pretend” or “act like” and generally we don’t accuse actors of being a liar.
    If a person finds that most people lie to him or her and accept lies as a natural part of life, that simply indicates it is time to look for new friends. Trust me, you won’t have to look far.

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