Coromind - Issue 34 - October25 - Coromandel's Collaborative Magazine - Flipbook - Page 17
Unfortunately, Donald’s lies, like his downplaying the
seriousness of the Corona virus, or the Sharpiegate
debacle on national television concerning a serious
hurricane, the track of which he changed with a sharpie
pen on a hurricane map, which was contrary to weather
experts’ predictions, have dire e昀昀ects on many people.
An American author and expert on lying (not an expert
liar) once said "Lying is a cooperative act. A lie has no
power by its mere utterance; its power emerges when
someone else agrees to believe it." So, when, I wonder,
will America wake up and evolve from MAGA into
MATA (Make America Truthful Again}?
Another quote of interest was made by Albert Einstein,
who said, “Whoever is careless with the truth in small
matters, can’t be trusted with important matters.” This
makes me remember my Mum’s harmless lies about
my birth and my holey jeans, which eventually led to
more consequential lies and deceptions concerning her
substance abuse. And a friend’s lies to his wife about the
a昀昀airs he claimed he wasn’t having. He even told me
the truth about his lovers. I can only imagine the hurt
that must have caused. But was I being dishonest by
not telling his wife, even though she never asked me?
Sometimes a lie can be uttered in silence.
I will 昀椀nish with the event which made me think about
writing about this subject. While it isn’t about lying, it
concerns honesty’s playmate, integrity. My partner’s
11-year-old Japanese nephew Hiroto and his three
friends found a 1-yen coin while walking along the
street. The Japanese are taught at an early age to be
honest, so this situation caused a dilemma. Should the
boys keep the coin (worth about 2 cents), or should they
take it to the police station? After having a vote, they
chose the latter and o昀昀 they went to hand it in. The police
o昀케cer told Hiroto he would need to call a parent before
deciding what to do. Hiroto rang his father and said he
was at the police station. Of course, his father freaked
out at hearing that, until the policeman explained the
situation and outlined the alternative courses of action.
The police could keep the coin in case someone reported
losing it, a very unlikely situation I would imagine, in
which case Hiroto could return and claim the coin. Or
the coin could be deposited into the ‘kokko’ which is the
fund that taxes are paid into. Hiroto chose this one and
was proud of the fact that at 11 years old he had started
to pay tax. However, you can imagine the paperwork
required to do this. Let’s hope the police saw it as a
pleasant diversion from their other, likely stressful, daily
duties. This incident outlines what I would call integrity,
and con昀椀rms its relationship to honesty; as American
psychologist Spencer Johnson wrote, “Integrity is telling
myself the truth, and honesty is telling the truth to other
people.” Well done, Hiroto.
Whereas the biblical quote “You shall know the truth and
the truth will set you free” no doubt refers to spiritual
freedom, I would suggest that it is also useful advice for
everyday life. After all, remembering lies and who you
have told them to together with the accompanying guilt
must surely be hard work.
Words by
Ross Liggins
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