Lying has not changed, but technology exposes lies faster than ever
From hidden cover-ups to instant fact-checking, modern technology leaves little room for deception and even less time to deny it.
By Julie A. Ferraro | FāVS News Columnist
The views expressed in this opinion column are those of the author. They do not necessarily reflect the views of FāVS News.
When my sons were growing up, they had one primary rule: “Don’t lie.”
I would explain to them in no uncertain terms, “It may take me an hour, a day, a month, a year, but I will find out the truth, and you’ll wind up in even more trouble than if you tell the truth.”
These days, it takes less than five seconds sometimes to discover someone has lied — especially those who make their claims about any of a myriad of topics in public.
Lies were easier to hide in the past
This immediate revelation wasn’t always the case — even as recently as half a century ago, for instance. Take the situation with President Franklin D. Roosevelt. The cover-up involved in making voters believe he wasn’t confined to a wheelchair was extensive because those closest to him thought his future in politics would end due to widespread prejudices about the capabilities of the disabled in that era.
Elected officials engaged in extramarital affairs — all the while claiming to be “moral, upstanding” public servants — were protected by lies. The whole Watergate issue in the early 1970s was smothered in lies.
In the early days of Hollywood, all sorts of behavior was concealed by lies to protect the “star power” of actors, directors, producers and studios. Enterprising journalists who might risk digging deeper to find the truth were soon out of a job, thanks to the influence of those in positions of power within the film industry.
In many belief systems, including Catholicism, lying is not a grave sin for the most part — except when it comes to “bearing false witness,” which could lead to an innocent person being charged with a serious crime and sent to prison, or someone being placed in physical or spiritual danger and coming to harm.
No one on the planet could deny having told the occasional little white lie — about how they liked a friend’s cooking or a co-worker’s new hairstyle. Yet, when the lies cause division, death and destruction, it is only right that they be exposed in a timely manner, on every available platform.
Technology makes denial impossible
Whether caught on camera, heard by multiple witnesses or recorded on audio, such lies cannot be explained away by the ones who consciously chose to share the misinformation. It’s no longer feasible — thanks to technology –– to claim, “I never said that.”
Yet, people do just that!
This terrible disservice to other humans, the insult to the masses and their intelligence, would be almost laughable, if the consequences of those lies weren’t so devastating to thousands — millions — of lives.
Anyone who professes to be a person of faith — whatever beliefs they value — should not display such hypocrisy as boldly lying about their actions. If called on the carpet when the fact checkers refute their statements, they should not persist in their lies.
The lesson my sons learned
Back in the day, my sons would be grounded indefinitely if they failed to admit their lies when I presented them with the truth. They soon learned that honesty was the least boring policy, especially if they were unable to hang out with their friends on the weekends and stuck watching old “Hogan’s Heroes” or “I Love Lucy” reruns with me.
With the transmission of information instantaneous these days, why don’t the career liars wise up and realize they’ll be caught? It truly puzzles me why these sorts think they can avoid taking responsibility for their actions by filing defamation lawsuits or bankruptcy petitions, attempting to block subpoenas and warrants, while dragging cases through the courts for endless years, hoping their victims give up and drop their objections.
Those who proudly state that God is all-seeing and all-knowing should already be aware their lies cannot be hidden from the divine and, as swiftly as news travels now, not from anyone else.
So, simply taking common sense into consideration, please tell the truth!
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