Truth-telling is and what is not morally justifiable,

Truth-telling is and what is not morally justifiable,

Truth-telling has become altered in todays society. In certain situations it is all right to lie or deceive. People have regarded truth-telling as overrated.

It is amazing the words we put with the word lying. We call them so many various things such as; exaggeration, little white lies, half truths, deceptions, and fibbing. Lying has become a very complicated topic today. Lying can be used in many different ways such as; to protect the innocent, for tradition, and the esteem of individuals. On the other hand, lying can be used as a tool of deception and manipulation. When used in this manner lying becomes detrimental to an individual and to a society.

We need to sort out what is and what is not morally justifiable, just as we must sort out moral from immoral behavior in politics, science, and religion (qtd. in hooke, 210)The witness protection program is relied upon by many individuals across the nation to protect their lives against dangerous criminals. In order for this to be successful one must completely change their lifestyles and their identities, basically lie to every individual about their past and future in order to protect themselves. Their whole existence for the time they are in this program in a lie to themselves and all individuals they come in contact with on a daily basis. In boks eyes this would be wrong. If we all live by the way she describes lying people we be less reluctant to be a witness to a crime in fear they may be killed.

Tradition. One word which defines all citizens BLAH BLAH BLAH!!!! The tradition of most American children is the belief of Santa Claus. The subjection of a red faced merry man delivering gifts to all of the children in the world in one night that our parents tell us about, take us to the malls to sit in his lap, and make us behave all year long for the fears of just getting coal in our stockings, is in one word .

. . a lie. A little white lie to our children is not half as bad as the disappointment in their faces when they come home from school one day crying because a big fifth grader told them the truth about St.

Nick. How could we let our children lead a childhood filled with no Christmas wonder and mystery, or a Christmas Eve gazing out of the steam-covered window in hopes for one peak of Rudolphs nose and a flying sleigh?How important is the self esteem of an individual? One could argue that it is the difference of them living a happy successful life or to one extreme committing suicide. We have all been asked the infamous, How do I look?, or Do I look fat in this? question, but how many people would answer truthfully when the answer would not be the one that we would hope to receive ourselves? Telling the whole truth about everything to everybody at all times is an impossibility, but even if it were possible it probably wouldnt be desirable. (qtd. in Hooke, 209) Therefor in the circumstances of deeply hurting an individuals feelings or diminishing their selfesteem truth altering must be acceptable.

In all aspects of advertising lying is the dominating technique. Manipulating society to consume a product is in all moral standings, wrong. Using a societies weaknesses to gain clients and business is a deceiving way to earn a living and takes a morally objectionable individual to do so. Phycologically manipulating , being able to go home at night and feeding your family with the money that you basically stole from society, and still being able to live with yourself afterwards is unbeleivable.

Yet, advertising is offered in all private and public colleges across the nation as a major of studies and has an overwhelming number of people employed in taking advantage of the rest of society and living off of it. Cigarette advertising is one that goes well over the morality lines, playing to young children, taking advantage of their immaturity, and using it to influence their decisions by making them appealing to their peers. Advertisers could hold the responsibility of all of societies smokers health in the own hands, yet billboards are posted of lovely ladies and sexy men with carcinogenic sticks beckoning to them, failing to mention the twenty-some years they will be cutting off the ends of their own life with just the lie of how attractive cigarette smoking can be. Another way lying is morally wrong is in a marriage or a relationship. A husband and wife should always be faithful to one another. Would it be wrong if a spouse cheated and didnt tell the other? If you were the other spouse would you want to know? When we start decieveing the people we love the most, that is when lying becomes very wrong.

If the spouse being cheated on was told by another source about his/her partnerBibliography: