Not all Lies are Equal

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Not all Lies are Equal
I once told a liberal the story of how the first President Bush lied about his age in order to volunteer and fight in World War II. At the time, he was too young to enlist so he lied about his age so he couldfight for his country. At the end of my story the liberal said that the key to that story is the word lie- President Bush lied. After hearing this response I began thinking - how can you compare this lie with Scott Peterson saying that he did not kill his wife? Most lies are selfish and done to protect or benefit the liar. President Bush's lie was completely unselfish and not done to protect himself. After some further thought I decided that we need to create classifications of lies, because all lies are not equal.

I have determined that there are three types of lies, cowardly (selfish), courtesy (white) and courageous (unselfish) lies.

Cowardly Lies (selfish)
Cowardly lies are the most dangerous type of lie and designed to protect or benefit the liar. Sandy Berger was caught removing documents from the National Archives. When the story broke, he stated that it was an honest mistake and it was the result of sloppiness. This is a cowardly lie. The lie was purposefully done in order to protect himself and for no other reason. We know it was a lie, because Mr. Berger pleaded guilty to intentionally removing documents from the National Archives.

Another example is Scott Peterson saying that he did not kill his wife. He was convicted of murder and all evidence points to his involvement in the murder. Once again his statements were cowardly lies, because his only motive was to protect himself.

Courtesy Lies (white)
Courtesy Lies are not hurtful and are done to spare the feelings of an acquaintance, friend or family member. If a friend returned from a salon with a very unflattering hairstyle and asked what you thought of the haircut- you would have a few options. You could reply that it is very unattractive. However- what would that response accomplish? It would create hard feelings, anger or resentment. A proper response might be- I think it looks nice; however, you should try my stylist, he is excellent.... This is a courtesy lie and it is done to spare feelings and it hurts no one.

Please note that beauty is in the eye of the beholder. Your duty as a friend and family member is to support those around you. As a result, someone might buy a dress, a car or paint a picture. You may not like what they did, but they may like it. Sometimes using a little diplomacy, discretion and support is the best policy.

Courageous Lies (unselfish)
Courageous lies are done in an attempt to help others at a sacrifice to oneself. The first President Bush lied in order to volunteer for service in World War II. His lie was a courageous one, because he did it to help his country at a sacrifice to himself.

I think this next example will better illustrate the difference between a cowardly lie and a courageous lie. What if a terrorist was holding hostages and young man and a police officer are the only ones at the scene. The police officer asks the young man for assistance until back up arrives. He asks the man to turn traffic away from the area; however, he would be in the direct line of fire. The police officer then asks if the man has a wife and children. If the man is single with no family and he responds that he is married with three children and cannot put himself in danger- it is a cowardly lie. However, what if the man had a wife and three children and he responds to the officer that he is single and then goes out to the road and turn traffic away from the area. In the two examples there were two lies, but the two lies are not equal.

There are people that disguise themselves everyday, lie about who they are in order to take advantage of people for their own personal desires. Their motives are completely selfish and evil. These are terrorists, murderers, rapists and thieves. They lie for their own personal gain at a cost to the innocent and society. Please note that there are also people that disguise themselves every day, lie about who they are and their motives are completely unselfish and good. These are the military personnel federal agents and law enforcement officers that go undercover to capture the terrorists murderers, rapists and thieves. When they are undercover - they lie at risk to themselves in order to protect the innocent and benefit society. Once again here are two examples of lies; however, how could anyone say that these two examples of lies are equal? All lies are not equal.

Written by Thomas George
Editor@boycottliberalism.com

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