Lying

A Brief History of Lying

In the beginning, there was a cover-up: “the man and his wife hid themselves…” (Genesis 3:8) Then blame was shifted: “The woman whom you gave to be with me, she gave me fruit…The serpent deceived me…” (Genesis 8:12-13) After a time, there was a plea of ignorance: “I do not know.” Then, on its heels, an outright denial of responsibility: “Am I my brother’s keeper?” (Genesis 4:9) As last there was a commandment, a moral principle: “Thou shalt not bear false witness…” (Exodus 20:16) I take this to mean we must not claim to know what we do not know, in other words, lie about our neighbors. Emmett Till and a host of others now dead could attest to the harm of bearing false witness. We have laws against perjury based on this commandment. Saying something that is not true in a court of law can result in jail time. Lying has consequences.

The same set of lies plays out in our nation’s capital. Nixon was impeached for a cover-up. Members of each party blame the other side, or any convenient scapegoat, rather than accept responsibility for their actions or inaction. Nixon equivocated, “I accept the responsibility, but not the blame.” Clinton questioned the definition of the word, “is.” Politicians plead ignorance and deny responsibility daily. And thanks to the internet, misinformation and disinformation are the stock-in-trade of partisans and their spokespersons on cable news opinion programs. Bearing false witness, with just a cherry-picked particle of truth, now pays incredibly well. Yet, no court, indeed “no reasonable person,” according to some jurists, would take certain on-air commentators seriously. Like politics, the entertainment business provides wide latitude for liars.

When I was in high school, my teachers told us that they would not tolerate lying, cheating, or stealing. We were expected to tell the truth and not make up “alternative facts” about ourselves or others. It didn’t matter to our teachers if we “really believed” we didn’t do a thing, or that someone else did it. What counted was accepting responsibility for our words and actions. The old excuse, so-and-so “made me do it,” wouldn’t fly, just as Adam and Eve couldn’t dodge responsibility by blaming their choices on the serpent. Lying is a choice. So is doing the thing we later lie about. My parents and teachers tried to teach me to “think ahead.” The problem today is that many liars do think ahead – to how many followers or “likes” they might have or how much money they might make. If lying can pay extremely well, why tell the truth?

All I know for sure is that lying has a long history and sometimes truth tellers, like nice guys, finish last. Pontius Pilate asked, “What is truth?” as he sent Jesus to the cross. Henry VIII beheaded Sir Thomas More for not endorsing the King’s idea of the truth. We live in a time when some would rather punish whistle blowers than those who lie. We thus give liars a clear advantage over truth-tellers. Now, some are insisting that the truth about our nation’s past is ”too divisive” and should not be discussed. Some try to twist facts and evidence to “prove” their point, even if the truth gets lost along the way.

We need to resist the age-old impulse to cover-up, shift blame, plead ignorance, deny responsibility, or just share things that are not true. In court, we must swear to “tell the whole truth, and nothing but the truth.” Yet, day-to-day, such an oath is hard. Not all truth is beneficial, to be sure. Some truth is inconvenient. Some truth is painful. But truth is necessary. Trust is built on truth. Societies rise, and fall, based on truth. Lying adds more obstacles, unforeseen consequences, and layers of fear and animosity. We can’t truthfully say we haven’t been warned.