Lies
20 03 2007“Even the way you lie tells the truth about who you are.”
I’ve given this statement a lot of thought, and I think I can only partially agree with it. It depends entirely upon the who the person doing the lying is and who the observer is. Not everyone is equally transparent, just as not everyone is equally discerning. For the people in the movie, this statement works fine, but it doesn’t hold up universally. If you’re trying to convince yourself that a lie is true, then of course it’s fairly easy for an outside observer to see the real situation, but what if you believe that lie completely? Then it starts to depend on the lie itself. Is it something outrageous and easily detectable, or is it something so subtle that it might as well be true? We constantly lie to others and ourselves, even if we don’t realize we’re doing it. Lies consist of not only spoken assertions, but behavior patterns, elaborate mental states, and ways that we interact with each other. What if you’re in a work situation and you don’t particularly care for your boss? You still behave as if you’re ok with this person, or even pretend to like them. This is a lie. Or how about convincing yourself that you no longer care for someone?
I guess my point is that there are many kinds of lies and not all of them necessarily reveal truth. One of the things that we’re best–and worst–at is lying.
