Is Lying Always Bad?

675 Words2 Pages

Growing up, we are always told to never lie because it is the worst thing you could ever do. “Lying will only lead to a horrible situation with less than mediocre results. While lying is not always good, it is not always bad either. Samuel Butler once said “Lying has a kind of respect and reverence with it. We pay a person the compliment of acknowledging his superiority whenever we lie to him.
To begin, sometimes it is better to lie rather than telling the truth and hurting someone’s feelings. It is not wrong when you tell a little white lie to keep someone you care about from getting hurt. To be specific, if your friend asked you how you feel about her hair, and you do not like it, you would not want to tell her that. Instead of telling the truth, and hurting her fragile feelings, you would rather say a little lie, telling her that you love it. If you are lying to keep someone you care about from getting their feelings hurt, or their pride wounded, then what is the harm? In conclusion, there is nothing wrong with telling small lies, if you are doing it with someone’s best interest in mind.
Secondly, it is okay to be untruthful if you are trying to protect people. In certain situations, it is safer, and more practical for you to tell a lie rather than putting a loved one in jeopardy. To illustrate you may be in a situation where you are in a serious or dangerous situation, and you do not what anyone else involved, to keep them safe. For example, if you are getting held up for ransom, would you tell the truth to a loved one and get them involved, or lie and keep them safe? The obvious answer is to keep them safe at all costs, even if it means lying. Also, you do not want to put someone in harm’s way, so it would be ...

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...narios, and can give the wrong impression. Nevertheless “little white lies” that help you or others feel better do not cause any harm. When you amplify stories, what is the harm and making yourself more exemplary? Embellishing tales only raise your self-esteem up, and does not harm anyone.
In certain circumstances and situations, I truly believe it is ok to lie. Initially, it is extremely beneficial to lie, rather than hurt the feelings of a loved one. Equally important, if you are trying to protect someone from getting impaired, it is okay to lie in order to keep them safe. Last but not least, exaggerations can help boost people’s self-esteem by making them exceptional. William Blake once said “A truth that's told with bad intent beats all the lies you can invent.” I urge you to question if honesty is really the best route, or is it okay to lie sometimes.

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