Lie: an
intentionally false statement designed to mislead or make someone believe
something that is not true.
Developmental
psychologists agree that the majority of children between the ages of four and
ten tell lies. These untruths are told for various reasons: to avoid
punishment, to impress someone, to deny reality, or to gain a favor or reward.
This pattern of behavior continues as long it successfully gains the ends it
seeks without penalty. Initially it falls to caregivers to recognize that the
child is lying and mete out consequences accordingly. If there are no
consequences, there is no incentive to stop lying and this pattern of behavior
will continue into adulthood.
There
are several types of lies our culture recognizes. The 'white' lie, which is
considered to be innocuous (therefore legitimate) and generally employed to
spare someone's feelings or perpetuate a myth. One of the most common examples
of the latter that is hotly debated every Christmas season if the Santa Claus
myth.1 It is not my purpose
here to defend or refute this, I use it only as an example, one of many that could
be cited. There is the deliberate manipulating of the truth by omitting parts
of the whole story to give it different shading, or by using ambiguous
language, or by parsing. There are hundreds of examples of this daily on radio,
television, and the Internet. Finally, there is the barefaced lie, the most
egregious of all. Criminals, politicians (as Mark Twain said, "But I
repeat myself.), and many of the 'talking heads' on TV and radio are shameless
perpetrators of barefaced lies.
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But
they are not the only guilty parties. The liability of a lie lies not so
much with the liar but with the believer. A lie gains no traction when those
for whom it is intended do not believe it. Unfortunately millions of Americans
believe the lies they hear daily because they issue from people or sources in
which they have misplaced their trust, or because the lie strikes a responsive
chord. And a great many people are too lazy (or busy) to search for
verification—is it a lie or the truth?
This
is what concerns me most because believers of these lies perpetuate racism and
sexism, divide groups, irreparably destroy reputations, and much else that
harms our society. They trust these lies because the lies play well to the
believer's prejudices, fears and hatreds. If a majority of our citizens would
take the time to check the validity of these questionable statements, ferret
out the liars and make sure they are reprimanded or better yet removed from
their position of authority, our nation would experience less hatred, less
division, more cohesiveness. To parody a statement uttered by Ronald Reagan
(borrowed from many important leaders before him), "Trust by verify",
I urge everyone to DISTRUST AND VERIFY!
Sources:
Why do kids lie, cheat and steal?
Lawrence Kohlberg's stages of moral development
Snopes is a reliable source of
verification
Google, requires care and
cross-checking but can offer links to verification
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send it to me at mailto:bfoswald78@gmail.com. Thank you.
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