Too many times we turn off the news in disbelief and disgust. Sometimes it’s ugly; there’s too much wickedness and wrongdoing in the world, as — save for one ’80’s pop song — most of us realize that heaven is not a place on Earth.
One of the more frequent motives for current head shaking is all the lies — or perhaps better said — all the potential lies. The deceit. The cover up. The shifting of blame. It’s almost robotic that when a person is accused of wrongdoing, they immediately claim responsibility rests elsewhere…
He did it. She did it. I wasn’t in charge then. It’s his fault. Who, me? I’m a victim…
Not only is responsibility immediately deflected, most add an instant reason why another is actually to blame…
He doesn’t like me. She’s out to get me. He’s too young. She doesn’t know any better. They love persecuting Christians. Bigots, that’s what they are…
… like the chairwoman of Louisiana’s Democratic Party, who said last week that much of the opposition to Obamacare is due to the color of Pres. Obama’s skin. Please. The Intramuralist read the legislation when proposed. There is much to be concerned about (i.e. rising premiums, government overreach, care decisions based on cost — such as for the elderly and overweight…), but the concern has nothing to do with anyone’s skin color. Ah, but lest I digress…
My point is that regardless of politics or personally awkward scenarios, there exists a huge potential for deceit. As we watch the disturbing scandals unfold, for example, within the IRS and Justice Dept., the challenge is that we can’t tell who and when someone is telling the truth. Friends, don’t let me infer that I believe all individuals are lying; the problem is that we can’t tell if they are.
And so we ask: what keeps a person from lying? Really. What keeps us from being deceitful? What stops us from sharing a little white lie or even a huge fib? What within us stops us from shifting that blame elsewhere? … or from just declaring “I don’t remember”? (… the current, least-damaging deceit method — because if we can’t remember, we can’t possibly tell the truth.)
Seriously, though, what stops us from lying?
It isn’t intelligence. There is no moral compass automatically associated with intellectual brilliance. James Frey, author of the autobiographical “A Million Little Pieces,” seemed highly intelligent when he appeared on “Oprah.” Granted, it was fairly humbling when he had to admit that many of the events in his quite profitable bestseller were intentionally fabricated.
What keeps us from lying?
A position of power? No. The 37th President of the United States, one Richard M. Nixon, put that reason to rest. Does the lie depend on topic? Many claimed President #42’s lies under oath were acceptable because “everybody lies about sex.” Did Pres. Bush lie about weapons of mass destruction? Did Pres. Obama lie about Benghazi?
If we instead suggest that people refrain from lying because of that inner moral compass, I’m not certain that theory holds true either, as a close examination of society quickly depicts morality as increasingly relative. Many of what was once considered wicked or wrong now seems actually accepted as good and pure and wise. Friends, don’t misquote me; I am not suggesting that discrimination or disrespect was ever appropriately “considered wicked or wrong.” My perception is that morality has become so relative that it’s logical to conclude that “to lie or not to lie” will also become a negative manifestation.
People lie. People always have the potential to lie. Even good people. Unless we adopt a timeless teaching of truth that doesn’t sway with the winds of society, the potential for each of us to lie will only continue to increase.
Respectfully,
AR