Features

Written by Legal Record Webmaster   

By Jerry Riley

This idea came to me late one night, as I watched a sitcom. The question was “is it always wrong to lie?” I fell asleep thinking about that question; woke up and started my research, and just thinking, yes, what a revoltin’ development this is! I changed the working title from “Liar, Liar, Pants On Fire” while doing the research.
We are taught, both formally and informally, that we should not lie. We should always be honest and tell the truth. My best reason for always telling the truth is that you never have to remember what you told to whom.
I looked up “fib” and found it was a form of lying that is usually forgiven because “it is not intended to deceive.” It is often referred to a little white lie. That, of course, made me wonder about the definition of lying. Using the same online dictionary: Lie (also called prevarication, falsehood) is a type of deception the form of an untruthful statement, especially with the intention to deceive others, or, black lie.
I’m guessing fibs have to do with Santa Claus, the Easter Bunny, leprechauns and mermaids; mainly because no one knows for sure. So is a lie to protect innocence or to spare someone’s feeling, just a fib?
Thinking about the upcoming election season, I wonder if those running for office know the difference or, if there even is one. Then we have the voters; do they know? Well, those who read this column are becoming intrigued with the question.

Jerry Riley is an occasional commentator for the News Bulletin. He is a retired telecommunications supervisor.