Why We Lie (From ATSNN)

Why do we lie? Most believe that lying is just a way to get people to think better of you. I say it's a way for people to think worse of you...that is, if your caught.



I'll admit, I lie all of the time. Sometimes I even lie so much as to actually believe the lies myself. Sometimes I ask myself, "do the little lies count?" I don't think that there is one person, over the age of 15, and has every human capability functional in this world, that hasn't told a huge lie just to get out of being blamed for an action, or to seem better to ones, or anothers self. Agreed?

Related News Links:
www.livescience.com

[edit on 15-5-2006 by DontTreadOnMe]

I like to think I am a pretty honest person (not trying to boast or anything). I've always found it quite difficult to come up with some big, elaborate lie to get me out of a jam, and usually the truth ends up coming out, anyway. Not that I haven't been guilty of doing it, mind you, everyone does it, it just seems that lying has that snowball effect where when the truth does finally come out, the consiquences are a hundred times worse than if you had told the truth in the first place.

When I do find myself telling a lie, it's usually to avoid hurting someone's feelings or to avoid conflict. Like, when a friend comes by with a really bad haircut and they think it's the greatest thing since sliced bread, and she asks me what I think of it, I'm probably going to lie and say it looks great. If I told her the truth, no matter how sugar-coated it might be, she's going to resent me for it, feel bad and at worst, walk around feeling self-conscious until she can afford to fix it or let it grow out. There's just no sense in that, for me anyway.

About the avoiding conflict: I have several groups of friends (even family) that just cannot get along and absolutely hate each other, for whatever reason. Needless to say, there's a lot of trash-talking and "what did she say about me THIS time?" things going on. I'd rather lie and say "Oh she hasn't brought you up in forever!" rather than, "well, I heard her say...". I think in an instance like that, it's probably for the better to lie than cause more animosity between the two and possibly bring up trust issues they have with me for taking one's side over the other or not defending them.

I'm not saying this is necessarily the right thing to do. I once had a nun in high school who argued to death to the class that it's NEVER ok to lie, no matter what the circumstance. Maybe she was right, but I just feel sometimes I'd rather make someone feel better about themself than be completely honest.

beyond liking the idea that i'm an honorable person, i'm pretty lazy, so most of the time i just face up to my actions or inactions and tell the truth, but i'll admit that i lie from time to time. usually, they're little white lies to stop big fights or to get my way or somethin', or i'll omit information (which many people consider lying, although i don't understand why), but i generally find that facing up to the bigger # is far more benficial than lying about it. it shows integrity and strength of character, and earns you respect - so what if you gotta deal with someone being pissed off?