Think of lying as a Ponzi scheme. By lying, someone alters the natural order of a system, removes something from its place. The only way to fill the adjustment is by taking another lie and filling its place. You cover every lie with another because the truth can no longer support the system. And like every Ponzi scheme, the bubble has to burst somewhere. You run out of lies or one triggers a butterfly effect so big that so many things now need explaining and you just can’t keep up. But hang on, does that mean lies never work? The best lies are the ones that no one’s ever heard of. The kind where nobody realizes that they’ve been lied to. The kind which needs a will of steel and an attention to detail that conquers even the most inquisitive truth. The only reason lying is considered bad, is because only the bad outcomes are etched into the memories of those who have done it. For everyone else, it has simply become the truth.

Everyone says, “Lying is bad. You shouldn’t do it. It’ll only get you in trouble.” Lying is a given. We may even consider that lying is easy. Lying may seem like a way of life but perhaps once you analyze the depth of rationalization behind it, it becomes obvious that it’s not easy to lie. Despite that everyone does it so well. I lie to you, you lie to me, and we almost certainly always lie to ourselves. Entire identities are defined by how much we delude ourselves by ignoring things right in front of us. Children have heard their parents always tell them not to lie and yet, despite their moral obligation to preserve our innocence, they are the first ones to lie to us. We all have that one defining moment in our lives where we suddenly see them, not as the awe-inspiring figures who could do no wrong, but as flawed individuals who struggle with the same dilemmas of life as the next person.  

So why is it that everyone goes down the road always taken? Initially, perhaps it is a necessity, an absolute need to do so. Someone may get hurt if you don’t lie. You do it as an act of mercy. But then we must fathom those that lie as casually as they breathe. Someone to whom lying is second nature. Once they are included, you have to consider those that lie to promote their agendas. Do they not comprehend the clear distinction between right and wrong? Or is their morality defined by standards different from our own?  

In the end, it’s always a perspective that matters. The veil of the intention behind a lie must be dissected and analyzed rather than the lie itself. It’s never as black and white as you want it to be. There’s always more than fifty shades of grey. And that’s the most important thing.