to lie or not to lie

we had to write a paper on honesty for enlgish...enjoy!

            Honesty is a perplexing thing. We humans are told from the beginning that telling the truth is what is important, forget that the truth might hurt someone or cause someone to do harmful things, so long as it’s the truth its okay, but is it really?  Little kids do not stop to consider whether what they’re saying will hurt someone or not. For example one of my sister’s friends went up to my grandmother and asked her if she was going to die soon. Shocked my grandmother asked why and the little girl proceeded to tell her that she looked old and old people die.  Yes that was honesty but is that fact relevant?

            As we grow older we are told that sometimes it is appropriate to tell “a little white lie” I know that I have used them numerous times to get out of sticky situations. When a friend calls me and I am not in the mood to speak to her I wont pick up the phone. If she tries me again later I’ll pick up. The conversations normally start out by her asking     “Sara, why didn’t you pick the phone up earlier?”

            “I don’t know. When did you call?”

            “About an hour ago”

            “Oh that explains it! I was in the shower and for obvious reasons didn’t take the phone with me!” Once I made my apparently eligible excuse we shift the conversation into less dangerous waters. When we hang up my conscience rears its annoying head and tells me that I shouldn’t have lied. Trying to reason with it I ask what else I should have done, told her the truth? It would have hurt her feelings to do so. My conscience pacified, I am able to go about my business. Later that night I start thinking to myself, do I really

believe that what I told my friend is a white lie? If so why would I have to appease my conscience, shouldn’t it know a real white lie when it hears one? I come to the conclusion that maybe this isn’t a white lie. Maybe I was just trying to save face and not appear a unsatisfactory friend.

            Honesty is important but so is saving somebody’s feelings. So what lessons should we live by, the ones taught to us in kindergarten or the ones told to us in elementary? Personally I think its good to have a healthy mix of the two. Sometimes it really is necessary to lie and vice versa. Every person can decide for themselves, to lie or not to lie.

 

Author's Note

all comments are apreciated! thanx

Reviews

[Aekmy]

This is an interesting subject, really, honesty is. You're right. Our parents and teachers have told us to be truthful to one another, but not be mean. One of the schools around mine don't take scores at their games. You know why? It's because they don't want to hurt the losing teams feelings. (Paaa- lease!) And in Texas they don't give children F's because they think that it will dampen their self esteem. (Ugh)
They say honesty is the best policy, but they also forget to mention that sometimes it hurts.

Very nice paper, by the way. I kind of started rambling. Oops. :}
Have a wonderful day, Sara. :D
Toodles, Madeline