Ericsson The Ways We Lie Analysis

"Our acceptance of lies becomes a cultural cancer that eventually shrouds and reorders reality until moral garbage becomes as invisible to us as water is to a fish."

- Stephanie Ericsson

I know a friend whose biggest pet peeve is lying. And I had to ask him, "Do you think honest is always the best policy?"

His response: "I try to be as honest as possible. Very rarely do I think lying's the best [for any situation]." But what if he knew how lying is inevitable in our everyday lives and how they could be of use in certain situations, like Ericsson's Vietnam veteran example?

In "The Ways We Lie", Ericsson covers on the many ways we lie in our daily lives, besides the typical deceptive statements. Some include the notorious 'white lies', omission, delusion, facades, and groupthink scenarios. Lies are mostly devices for selfish motives or self-promotion (though I think anything is rarely selfless), but is it really necessary to call these lies "moral garbage"? Granted, Ericsson does acknowledge that some of these lies can be honorable or functional for living. For instance, if we all kept in mind the perils that are rife in this world, I doubt we could ever want to carry out any part of our lives
In addition, a person can be honest about their beliefs and their intentions but can also neglect his/her responsiblities. Maybe as an employer, a teacher, a parent, or a spouse to name a few. For instance, a manager was taught his whole life that women aren't as smart as men. So he gives his female employees tasks that he believes they'll be more apt to apply themselves. Although he's being true to his beliefs, he fails to take responsibility as an equitable manager and as a representative of his