Honest as Dirt : Momma, You're so Mean

"Truth be told, honesty is a tricky thing. Like beauty, it's in the eye of the beholder. One man's mortal sin is another man's day at the office," states Lauren Beckman Falcone in her September 25, 2000 article published in The Boston Herald. Lauren's article goes on to report one of every four American adults think it is okay to lie if the lie helps one to achieve personal goals but they would not want a liar for a friend.

Lying has become such a common and socially accepted practice that conscientious people often have to ask themselves, "What is a lie anyway?" Only through holding the self conscious of not being like everybody does one hold to a personal value system. For example, is it a lie to tell the latest phone survey you can't take their survey because you are late for an appointment? Could a lie be telling the children Mr/Mrs/Miss/Ms Xyz was just dizzy and could not drive when he was clearly drunk and having a problem standing up? We hear folks make statmements like the previous almost everyday in general conversation while those listening agree they made a good decision to lie.

Webster's Deluxe Unabridged Dictionary, Second Edition defines a lie as: "1. to utter falsehood with the intention to deceive; also, to utter falsehoods habitually. 2. to cause an incorrect impression; to present a misleading appearance, to deceive one." If one accepts Mr. Webster's defination then the statements in the previous paragraph are, indeed, lies.

Most people would agree, lying builds a false, misleading impression. Isn't that what it is intended to do? The title of Lauren's article suggests our culture is confused about honesty. In the English language honesty can be a noun or an adjective. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, states, "Westerners have failed to make honesty a cultural norm." But, hey, Westerners are great game players! That being so, the Western culture has then built a culture out of straw, not bricks, foundation stones, or any other material which will withstand when severly tested.