is it ever okay to lie?
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say you're in target and the checker asks you when you're due....but you're not pregnant. you'll probably never see her again and even if you do there's no way she'll remember you. is it okay to say "june" and move on to save you and her both the embarrassment of "i'm not pregnant..."? i guess that lie seems pretty harmless...but it's not honest. and after all, "we believe in being honest, true...." i guess i don't know. i'm sure i've done something like this before, told a lie that doesn't really matter to anyone, but i don't remember any specific incidents. but i'm sure that if i told this (hypothetical) checker i was pregnant that somehow she'd know somebody i know and she'd start telling people and then i would have a lot of explaining to do. so i suppose i don't think it's okay, even if it doesn't really matter specifically to anyone, because we are supposed to be honest in everything we do. i wish it was okay, though, because i'm sure i could save myself a lot of embarrassment in cases like this.
what do you think?
14 comments:
you're probably right-we shouldn't ever do it. i think if we do it it gets easier and easier. even if it's about stuff that's not important. it can't make you feel really ever feel good about yourself. i wish i had an answer for all the akward situations though.
I don't know. I definitely believe in being honest. I have friends who still use their student ID cards(but they are no longer students) to get discounts at the movies... I do not. I know someone who switches out the bottleneck sodas to make her own variety 6 pack (for example: 1 IBC Rootbeer, 1 Grape, 1 Strawberry, 1 Cream Soda)... it's a small thing, but I think it's dishonest!
But, when it comes to something like your hypothetical dilemma, I would probably lie. Just like I do every time Carly brings me a picture that looks like a bunch of scribbles and I say, "OH! It's so beautiful!"
Well, in your little example it is definitely NOT ok to lie. That person needs to learn from this experience not to be a dumb dumb and ask people that they do not know if they are pregnant. I mean, they have already succeeded in making you feel bad about yourself, right? You will go home and think "Oh my gosh, am I really fat enough to look pregnant?" "I need to start doing crunches asap" "I'm throwing out the Little Debbies...tomorrow" or some such nonsense. But if you lied to them, they have learned NOTHING. Embarrassing them by saying "I'm not pregnant but thanks for making me feel really fat" will TEACH THEM.
Other than that example, which I obviously have feelings about, I think it is a moral quandary. I try really hard to stay on the totally honest side so that I don't slip down the slippery slope. :-D I notice that teenagers have different ideas than me of what is honest...I don't like it and have to stop myself from lecturing. I am getting old.
lynette, i've TOTALLY done that ibc thing. i guess i have some repenting to do!
Probably not. But it's okay not to answer. Some questions can be very personal and you can just not answer or say - that's not something I talk about. (I've had people ask me my salary (when I had one) - well that's not something I talk about.
BUT, what if your wife says "How do you like my new dress" and you don't like it. My experience would say you might want to find something good (and true) to say about it. Like - that length is just right for you - because if you say "I think its ugly" you will be in serious trouble for a while!
Dad
you lie all the time, santa claus, easter bunny, tooth fairy, nothing's wrong, you look fine....
By the way, whenever you read my posts you should always realize I'm saying things with a smile and/or smirk on my face. I'm not as serious of a person as I sound when I read my own comments! I'm trying to be funny!
(you ARE funny, debbie!)
i hate that santa claus one ellen, it kills me. we've talked about it. my friend emilie doesn't do santa. i wish i hadn't. now it's too late! we're not doing easter bunny though.
Re: Easter Bunny. I didn't do that one either. On Easter Sunday I put out a basket of Easter candy (jelly beans, cadbury eggs, etc) but the boys knew *I* put it there and it was a treat for the whole family.
dave's told me about that, vivian, that's why i decided not to do it. i think easter is a pretty special holiday and i don't need to commercialize it any further. that doesn't mean i won't do easter baskets because i can't resist that, but they will be from me, not some man-sized bunny!
ok, i think i'm the only one who said, "kinda." i guess that means i'm going to hell. see, i just said hell. yep, definitely going to H-E-double hockey sticks!
hilarious!
HI-larious...when are you due? ha ha ha ha ha
-gym
I do like the idea of no Easter Bunny!
june, gym. june.
just kidding, people.
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