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Briefly, On Lying
Having been essentially some form of an addict for 22 years now, I know a thing or two about lying. Some years of my 30s I lied probably 50+ times a day about specific things to get another drink or whatever. I’ve gotten a little bit better over time, but I still have flaws around this, absolutely. That’s just an opener in the interest of transparency.
Thomas Edsall columns in The New York Times tend to be pretty good. This, from this morning, would be another example:
I fully realize that the inclusion of “Trump as a liar” in the headline appeals to 50% of people and makes the other 50% of people utterly disgusted. Totally get it. It’s hard to read things whereby the headline threatens your ideology off the bat.
Still, if you get into the article, there are some interesting sections about lying. Let me highlight a few for you.
Lying in the name of the collective good occurs commonly. Such lies are frequently told in business, politics, sports, and many other areas of human life. These lies are so common that they have acquired a specific name, the “blue lie” — purportedly originating from cases where police officers made false statements to protect the police force or to ensure the success of the government’s legal case against an accused.
Yep. This one is common. It’s part of why the Supreme Court (I believe?) has upheld the right for interrogators to lie to suspects. I would say most justification for lying falls into this bucket — and especially when politicians lie. I think their belief is commonly, “This isn’t entirely true, but if I don’t get these people on my side, the other side will get them and destroy society.” As such, it’s “lying for the common good.”
