The Allure of Lies

A lie is nobody's friend. No matter how tempting it might be to embrace one. A lie is to avoid. One can be so seductive, much like a forbidden lover or a drug that promises a quick-fix. We find ourselves caught in an awkward moment and a lie offers a way out. We are with others looking for certain truths. We know those truths to be false, yet we reinforce them just the same. It makes the others happy. It brings on their cheers, good will and support. So, we wrap the lie around our shoulders much like a warm shawl. Everyone is happy without realizing they have been wronged. We know it because we have opened the door to the lie.

In a passage from "Great Expectations," involving the main character, Pip, and the husband of his sister, Joe, the one tells the other: "...namely, that lies is lies. Howsever they come, they didn't ought to come. Don't you tell no more of 'em, Pip. That ain't the way to get out of being common, old chap." Here, author Charles Dickens articulates the false choice that is a lie. All of us long and strive to raise our level of standing in the eyes of others. A lie is the wrong door to pass though to achieve that end. Sadly, it is a choice we all make during the course of our lives. In situations that are insignificant and ones that are not, at times we give in to the allure of the falsehood.

Lies represent a choice; a very real one. They do not occur by mistake. What makes them so appealing is that they can be used to communicate effectively, thus serving as a means to an end. At times, they can even make our attempts to communicate well easier and less confrontational. Why not lie then? Why not travel that road rather have to contend with such unwanted results as disagreement, hurt feelings or rejection? The answer is simple: because a lie is not truth. It undermines effective communication by its mere existence. On the other hand, while truth does not guarentee smooth sailing, it's inevitable reward is enlightenment. What's better than that?