Dishonesty: Bold Lie

Angelo Segura English 12 Honors Dr. Jen 5 May 2018 The moment we proclaim we don’t or have never lied is the moment we lie. It doesn’t matter how well we say it, there are points in our lives when we are faced with certain situations where the only viable option to get out of it is to lie. Lies may be categorized, but whether it’s a good lie or a bad lie, it’s still a lie. Throughout her essay, “The Ways We Lie”, Stephanie Ericsson explores and exploits different kinds of lies we may use in our daily lives.

In the essay The Ways We Lie, author Stephanie Ericsson writes in depth about the different types of lies used by most people everyday. While listing examples of them, Ericsson questions her own experiences with lying and whether or not it was appropriate. By using hypothetical situations, true accounts, and personal occurrences, she highlights the moral conflicts and consequences that are a result of harmless fibs or impactful deceptions. In an essay detailing the lies told to ourselves and others, Ericsson points out one bold truth; everyone lies. Through her writing, Ericsson causes the reader to look into how they’ve lied in the past and how to effects others and the general greater good of society.

Lying is a common habit that everyone has had experiences with. I have lied and have been lied to numerous times. Everyone has. However, not everyone exposed to a certain lie is aware of it’s true power. In her essay “The Ways We Lie”, Stephanie Ericsson criticizes our bad habit of lying. She explains many different types of lies and even gives examples to show how harmful they can be as “our acceptance of lies becomes a cultural cancer that eventually shrouds and reorders reality until moral garbage becomes invisible to us as water is to a fish” (128).

A lie is considered a false statement given to fool someone. At some point throughout the day everyone will stretch the truth. Are lies just really some version of the truth or are they bold and deliberate? Lying is discussed in-depth in "The Ways We Lie" by Stephanie Ericsson and in the article "Is Lying Bad for Us" by Richard Gunderman. The two articles discuss the types of lies, reasons people lie and the consequences suffered by all. It can be determined after reading the texts that lying causes undue stress and telling the truth is beneficial in more ways than one.

“The truth is always an insult or a joke, lies are generally tastier. We love them. The nature of lies is to please. Truth has no concern for anyone's comfort” Katherine Dunn perfectly describes what attracts us to lies from a quote in her book Geek Love. Most people lie to help themselves make it through day to day life. If people lie all the time, can all that lying really have an immense effect? Delays for telling the truth is not always a bad thing.While some lies are more helpful to some people more than others. Lies can make people seem untrustworthy, although lies help protect innocence, maintain self-esteem, and prevent harm from yourself or others.

Honesty and deception both play valuable roles in all parts of personal lives and society. Richard Gunderman stated, “To tell the truth is to live authentically and responsibly, to really live.” Living honestly is a way to have less stress to your life, proven by Richard Gunderman in “Is lying bad for us?” However, dishonesty seems to at an all time high with the growth of communication as stated in “On Bullshit” by Harry Frankfurt. In addition, lying can provide incredible short-term benefits discussed by Stephanie Ericsson in “The Ways We Lie.” Gunderman’s claim on authenticity is valid because most cultures see honesty and trust as two of the more lauded values. Telling the truth relieves stress and adds trust. Yet, there is a seemingly

Lying can save you in severe situations such as life or death. Elie lied about his age and said he was eighteen instead of fifteen. “‘Your age?’ he asked, perhaps trying to sound paternal. ‘I'm eighteen.’ My voice was trembling.” (Wiesel 31). Not telling exact information to strangers about yourself can prevent bad things from happening. He told the doctor he was sick so he didn’t have to get his crown taken. His crown could buy him an extra ration of bread and soup, so he decided it’d be smart to keep it. He said he was a farmer because it could save him from being killed immediately. Lying is one of many ways that can help people survive in certain situations.

The majority of people think lying is inherently wrong, and it is only justified in cases of significant benefit. Fear, manipulation and pride are the three main reasons people choose to lie. Some of the harsher lies are

As we all know, lying is a constant part of many people’s lives, whether they realize it or not. Now and then, we’ve all lied to our parents about our homework being completed. (Even though your homework is not done because playing video games or texting your friends is more interesting.) Honestly, lot’s of us have told a lot of white lies or maybe even a whopper of a lie, and we all have varied views on when we should or shouldn 't lie. Such as Brad Blanton, an author of a book about lying and the article, “Honestly, Tell the Truth” who believes in the concept of radical honesty: telling the truth at all times. (excluding a matter of life or death) By cutting out the white lies we tell throughout the course of our lives, there will be less lies to, as Blanton states “unnecessarily complicate our lives.” I agree with Blanton and his opinion that we honestly need to tell the truth and that if we cut out most if the lies we tell, our lives will be free of the aftermath of a lie: damaged relationships and unnecessary amounts of stress. I believe that lying is burdening to the liar who usually fights a losing battle, for he will most likely be found out. I also believe that if we excessively lie, this pattern will become a habit and a problem that will be hard to get rid of in the future. I consider lying to be harmful and damaging to relationships and to negatively affect your character and lower your moral standards. Everyone has lied occasionally, if not frequently, but if

When people are fearful of what they did, they may lie, because they know they did something wrong, or they are worried that they might have done something wrong. If you would tell the truth, you will feel so much better that you have told the truth, the truth will also get you out of more trouble.

Lying is known as a bad thing, but sometimes it can be used for good. Dishonesty just depends on how you utilize it. In the story, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, by Mark Twain you will see lying happening very often. When Huckleberry Finn lies it is usually for a good purpose. While the king and duke use it for more greedy reasons.

Why do people lie? In the Truth about Lying by Judith Viorst, she describes the different types of lying and she shows how society has accepted it. She also explains the reason why we lie and what we lie about. The main types of lies that she talks about are social lies, peacekeeping lies, protective lies and trust keeping lies. On social lies Viorst describes that people find it acceptable to decline invites. With I’m busy that night. Or complement someone’s hairdo that doesn’t look good with that looks good. When it simply isn’t true. She also talks about what peace keeping lies which is when you lie to cover up for someone else’s mistakes

To begin with, sometimes people can’t handle honesty. The article “It’s the Truth:Americans Conflicted About Lying” ‘Why get here traumatized?’says Smith,64, of pioneer,Calif,’I tried to protect her. It slowed down the anxiety. Later,I told her what really happened’”. Sometimes telling truth can permanently affect someone and make them traumatized. There are some cases where the consequences of honesty outweigh the effects of lying. Additionally ,the same article it states”You don't want your kids to eat too much, so you say all the cookies are gone. You don't feel like going out,so you tell your date something important came up”.

People lie for all kinds of reasons. However half the lies are either self–orientated, and are therefore intended to make the liar appear better or to gain personal advantage (DePaulo et al., 1996). Self– orientated lies consist of people lying

Finally, we lie because we do not want to get hurt. An example is we protect our own feelings. They say that honesty is the best policy but this does not work all the time, we lie because the truth hurts. Another example is we protect our pride. Most of us do not want to tell the truth because we do not want to admit that we are wrong.