Half of us don't have faith in our politicians and we don't vote. Our leaders lie to us daily in order to attain support, be it in the form of votes, taxes, or just pure sweat and blood. If the lies start from the top of the food chain so to speak, by the time they get to our children it's not even a lie but rather a complete deception. It's almost like we live in a fake world engineered to use us and suck us dry, all the while hiding the truth. No wonder the movie Matrix did so well? Now sure we are not in some test tubes with hoses in our back but the idea is similar. Those of us who don't have power and control have to follow by rules that we may or may not agree with. There's an interesting line from the movie Frost/Nixon that explains this clearly. The president tells Frost clearly without hesitation that "when the president does it, it's not a lie". Now those may not be the exact words from the movie but it's pretty close. Now how many presidents have come and gone with the same philosophy in mind? Who do we tell our children to look up to? If our politicians who are the people who represent us can tell a lie, why can't they?
Now day’s we rely on science and technology to take care of us, make us healthy and live longer, better lives. Believe it or not, science is not always perfect either. It is however open to interpretation. This means that if you believe it works, it works. Ever heard of the placebo effect? If science is so perfect then why does it need to test for the placebo effect in every experiment when it comes to human beings? Probably because most medications and supplements we find on the market today do absolutely nothing. If anything it's the idea of the supplement that works. For example we have normal Tylenol, and extra strength Tylenol. Why would anyone need normal Tylenol when there was a better and faster extra strength Tylenol on the market. How many people go to the pharmacy shelf and say my head ache does not warrant extra strength pain relief today so I’ll take my chances with the normal Tylenol? The supplement industry is a multi-billion dollar market today. How many of us waste hundreds of dollars everyday in the hopes that a magic pill packed in an attractive container can make us skinny, increase our strength or even just make us feel better? What do we tell our children when they try these products and find that they don’t really work and that the company lied to them? How about those celebrities that have huge endorsement deals? Do they even use the products they endorse? I recently saw a video on steroid use in America. The producer of the video was interviewing a spokes model for a fat burner called Hydroxycut. I'm not going to name any names but the spokes model was a popular figure in the bodybuilding world. When the producer asked him how he felt about misrepresenting the product to consumers, he simply replied that it was a double edged sword, and that the consumer should know better. Basically what he was trying to say is that the product he is promoting for millions of dollars doesn't actually make him look the way he does. However he did admit that the steroids he took did do wonders for his physique. How many of our children grow up wanting to become just like these individuals. Well they eventually learn that their heroes became heroes, by lying.
So why do we insist on teaching our children not to lie? Why teach them morals that don't really apply in the real world? Furthermore why do we teach them something that we ourselves cannot do? I think that the idea of always telling the truth is appealing to us. It is however an idea that cannot come about in a world where the foundations of our society are built from lies. I think that the trick to deciphering a lie from the truth now a days is extremely hard. There is a saying that goes something like, "oh what a vicious web we weave, when we first choose to deceive." Ever heard a saying like that? Well it's true. When the first lie was told and the first lie was believed, we started this web of deceit. I think we are all trapped in this web like flies in a web of a spider. That is how human beings function, they are a product of their upbringing mostly. We learn from a young age that sex is dirty, that Santa Claus is real, that good people don't use foul language, that our sports heroes are so great because of their hard work, training and discipline, that God will punish you if you do anything wrong, that you can become anything you want if you just work hard and be a good person. How many of those statements hold any truth when you become an adult?
The main reason we tell our children to tell the truth is because we are pure idealists! Everything we do is based on an ideal, never reality. Maybe that's why even though human beings have the smartest brains among all species on the planet earth, we are still so confused. Everyone knows everything, but nobody knows anything.
2 comments:
It is not that people want to lie,mostly, it is more that they give credence to an abstract world of their creation. Rather than paying attention to the particulars in their perceiving, and being responsive to this, the mind abstracts and creates ideas about phenomenality to which they give credence. There is strong agreement around this process of mediate relations. It makes the selling of goods much easier and turns all that is real into a shadow that has never been instantiated.
Thank you very much Mr. Rudin for your comment. You have accurately hit the nail on the head. Lying does make things much easier, for most people, but for those of us who are tormented by the beast of morality it is a constant strugle to accept what we know to be false. I agree with you but do not think that it is the right aproach to living a good, honest and virtuos life. Acceptance of a falsity just because it is easier at the moment could cause a ricochet of problems in the future.
Post a Comment