Deception is rampant—and sometimes we tell the biggest lies to those we love most.
If, as the cliché has it, the 1980s was the decade of greed, then the quintessential sin of the 1990s might just have been lying. After all, think of the accusations of deceit leveled at politicians like Bob Packwood, Marion Barry, Dan Rostenkowski, Newt Gingrich, and Bill Clinton.
And consider the top-level Texaco executives who initially denied making racist comments at board meetings; the young monk who falsely accused Cardinal Bernardin of molestation; Susan Smith, the white woman who killed her young boys and blamed a black man for it; and Joe Klein, the Newsweek columnist who adamantly swore for months that he had nothing to do with his anonymously-published novel Primary Colors. Even Hollywood noticed our apparent deception obsession: witness films like Quiz Show, True Lies, The Crucible, Secrets & Lies, and Liar, Liar.
Leonard Saxe, Ph.D., a polygraph expert and professor of psychology at Brandeis University, says, “Lying has long been a part of everyday life. We couldn’t get through the day without being deceptive.” Yet until recently lying was almost entirely ignored by psychologists, leaving serious discussion of the topic in the hands of ethicists and theologians.
Psychology Today (thanks, SuZi)
And of course, a certain dossier full of lies that started a certain conflict…
If the 80′s were the decade of greed, and the 90′s the decade of lying, then I take it the noughties are the decade of bull****?
Not a comment related to this topic; why does the title of this webpage say ‘all your minds ARE belong to us?’ have I missed something?
Ahaha …. till quite recently it was not in psychologists’ focus??? I dont buy that. But hey, maybe in the UK?
They theirselves lie a lot of course, all the time, during sessions … which apparently establishes a very weird relationshiop for some clients …. werid enough.
When they don’t lie … they can stop with a lot of sessions quite fast as those wont work anymore.
What is lying? When is it considered to be appropriate or justified, does it serve a specific goal. But will it make the patient feel safe … wont he/she feel as being mislead? Most are checking the psychologists just as much. Quite normal in lots of interactions.
Some still think that when someone does not speak from it deepest darkest down self it is not true … that they arel ying .. whereas most, lots, of people have learned to speak from another self .. it’s the intermediair so to speak. And yes, then some might feel it more difficult to determine whether someone speaks the truth. Especially when it concerns a person that it completely different than theirselves.
Lying happened as long as we live I guess and will last just as long as humans are around.
The weirdest thing is that people quite often are too focussed on other people as if they are alike and therefor will not even recognize a lie, or the truth. How blunt you have to become to make them understand that you are really speaking the truth. Which makes you all of a sudden the not social one …. weird enough.
People just dont speak the same language all the time, even if they speak the same language.
The more you feel the need to lie in life, the less interesting it gets I’d say. Even if it just concerns little white lies. Because it makes you wonder … what is left in life then for your true own self?
The truth about lying … can’t be described in a small article .. it takes a book, if not more than that, to at least describe it a bit more properly.
We lie to ourselves all the time .. just to get through life … we will have to … to boost ourselves … pretend … it’s not about other people in this case, but mainly about driving yourself. The older you get the more aware of this most will be.
lies in de media .. are not there for the same reason, and at the same time, at times they are there for the same reason.
The truth … is not what people wish to see or feel or hear about most of the time ..
One thing is true .. no-one asked to be born … (very important .. it explains quite a lot if you think of it ..).
The moment I need to get up when the alarm goes off .. I already start to lie …….. in a way … not in words ..
We were not cut out for this life apparently.
I’m in heaven …. and that is a lie.
Can go on and on on those type of topics .. from all kind of states and insights and moods … but hey … I lie … I’m speechless now …
Oh, let me add one .. this afternoon I thought I could actually sue our government for their lies … by sueing them for the fact that I did not die yet .. it says it clearly on the package … smoking will kill you … so simple suicide I figured …. and darn … it does not work! If you sperm quality did not go down more than non smokers you can sue them too … etc etc …. They can never proof what they state (nope, scientists neither .. not in proper 100% scientific research).
Yes, they lie too … all the time … Money makes the world go around ….
The truth about lying is .. that life itself is a lie ..
Annette. Google “All your base are belong to us” All will become clear.
Hi Annette.
I guessing it is based on ‘All your base are belong to us’.
Comes from a broken English translation of an old Sega Mega Drive game.
Try this –> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/All_your_base_are_belong_to_us
Hope this helps.
Well, Ms G provided us all with a big long rant that no-one’s ever going to read, huh?
Otherwise, interesting article Derren.
Also, my mind can’t belong to you when all YOUR base, are belong to us!
If its this for the 80s and that for 90s. Then the first decade of 21st century is blatant lying and getting away with it! Present company excluded!
If 80s was this and 90s was that. Then the first decade of the 21st century is about blantantly lying getting away with it! Present company excluded!
@Adam…i did read Ms G´s comment though, mostly thought provoking and unusual and certainly not your everyday Joe Moe type of insight….
shouldnt it be all your MIND are belong to us?
Currently working on a new CV… what percentage of lies to truth is acceptable?
Here’s another thing… when you’re filling out application forms and they say “what interests you about this job?” why isn’t “money” an acceptable answer?
It’s the only completely truthful answer I can think of.
I certainly don’t do it for the social life! The alternative of “all my life I’ve harboured a burning desire to be part of a team of telesales reps” seems a tad insincere!
They demand honesty on application forms but if you gave them precisely what they asked for you’d be shown the door. It’s one of many social situations in which the unspoken rule is to bend the truth if not totally lie through your teeth!
Sorry about the rant, my current jobsearch is getting to me.
Flapjack- I’d go for about 10/20% . Just enough to make a difference but not enough to stand out as a big pile of bull.
By the way what is with the ‘personal interests’ section on job applications? Seriously. I have never understood this bit. I aren’t applying for friends I’m applying for a job, why do they want to know what I do in my ‘spare time’?? That’s the bit where I always stretch the truth. I’m guessing eating chocolate and watching big brother wouldn’t cut it.
x
Flapjack- good luck in your search. x
“Everybody lies” – House.