Lying At a young age our parents taught us to always tell the truth and never to lie. Although, telling the truth is the morally correct thing to do, I believe there are scenarios when lying is acceptable. One should not make a habit of lying, but know when the right time and the right place is to lie. Lying for the greater good to spare someone’s feelings, to keep a child’s innocence, or to even save a life are just a few examples when I think lying can be tolerated.
People say “tell me the truth, I can handle it. But really inside, they don’t want the truth; they want you to tell them something that is going to make them feel good. What if a friend asked you a question that if you were to be honest, forced you to say something that was likely to hurt their feelings? For instance, “do I look fat in this? ” As a good friend, you’re supposed to tell them what they want to hear. Lying to them this way doesn’t make you a bad friend; I believe it makes you a better one As a young child I remember asking if Santa, the Tooth Fairy and the Easter Bunny were real.My parents assured me they were and every holiday I loved waking up with a spectacular gift under the tree, my pillow, or by my front door. The thrill I got from this was because I believed in them, and also because my parents lied to me whenever I asked about it.
Parents all over the world fib to their children to protect their innocence and keep their creative Smith 2 imaginations flowing. So therefor, telling a little white lie in this situation is in my opinion the right thing to do.One of the most well-known stories of lying for the greater good is that of Anne Frank. Anne Frank along with eight others was kept hidden in the attic of a German civilian by the name of Mieps Gies. During the Nazi occupation of Europe during WWII, it was illegal to hide any Jewish citizen. Mieps kept Anne and the others a secret in order to keep them from being sent to Nazi Concentration Camps.
This story is very much well known because someone had risked their own livelihood for the lives of others by breaking the law and “lying” to the authority.We’ve always been told that “honesty is the best policy”, and most the time, honesty is the right way to go. Telling the truth sometimes hurts others and there are times when “stretching the truth” to avoid feelings from being hurt is the easy way out. Keeping the innocence of a child simply by fibbing to them about Santa is an acceptable lie. Then there are instances when lying is the only thing you can do in order to save a life.
The trick is to know when to lie and when to tell the truth.
