Lying distorts one’s own view of reality

The Pinocchio President: Not just a liar but a Marionette as well.

(Globalo photo)

WRITTEN by Michael Corthell

Why is lying bad the little boy asked?

This letter was prompted by the moral crisis President Donald Trump has created by deceiving the citizens he serves. Several fact checkers report that since taking office only 20 percent of what the president has told the American people is, indeed, true. Holy smokes, he lies 80 percent of the time (allegedly)! That’s a mighty long nose, Pinocchio. But, seriously lying is theft of freedom, the freedom by the hearer of the lies, to choose rightly.

1. Lying is bad because  it diminishes trust between human beings, and if a world leader is a liar, the people he/she serves are less secure.

2. Lying is bad because it treats those who are lied to as a means to achieve the liar’s purpose, rather than as a valuable human being with human rights.

3. Lying is bad because it makes it difficult for the person(s) hearing the lie to make a free and informed decision about the matter being discussed.

4. Lying is bad because it’s recognized universally as a basic moral wrong.

5. Lying is bad because it’s something that good people do not do. (Good behavior displays the virtues found in good people).

6. Lying is bad because it corrupts the liar. (Telling lies becomes a habit, and if a person regularly indulges in one form of wrong-doing, they may very well become more and more comfortable with wrong-doing in general).

God gave us the power of speech so that we could make our thoughts known to each other. Therefore, using speech to deceive people is a sin because it’s using speech to do the opposite of what God intended.

Finally, one of the most powerful moral arguments for honesty has to do with what the French philosopher Jean-Paul Sartre called “bad faith.” Liars deceive others, but liars also deceive themselves, and deluded people can be a danger to others.

When people lie, they tend to distort their own view of reality, and the more often they lie, the more habitual and ingrained this distortion becomes. After a while, the habit of lying removes them further and further from reality, so they see less and less clearly the choices before them, and what is at stake in those choices. Eventually, they may find themselves unable to see what they are really doing, and how it is affecting others and themselves. The serial liar will eventually end up leading an inauthentic and irresponsible life, to put it mildly.

All of us lie, some more than others, but some make a pretty damning career out of it.

Copyright 2017 American Free Press MEDIA