“The liar's punishment is not in the least that he is not believed, but that he cannot believe anyone else,” George Bernard ShawWe've all lied at times. Whether it was to avoid a conflict or consequence we've all told a fib, spun a yarn, stretched the facts - basically lied. While we may convince ourselves that "little white lies" are necessary at times, the truth is they are still untrue.
I once had a college ethics professor whose single rule of conduct as to whether or not he engaged in a certain behavior was to ask the question of his conscience, "What if everybody in the world did what I'm about to do? Would that be a world I want to live in?"
That's a great standard regarding actions such as stealing, adultery or murder - but when it comes to lying I think we already live in a world where everybody does it.
I have to tell the truth that I came across a fascinating article today at SmartBlog about lying and how pervasive this particular practice has become in our society. The article was written by Mary Ellen Slayter who interviewed the author (Pamela Meyer) of a recently released book titled Liespotting: Proven Techniques to Detect Deception.
I've embedded the entire article below as well as included its link. I found this information to be both invaluable and insightful - so don't lie to me anymore, because I'll know when you do - um...I guess that goes both ways, huh?
