Once in a while, we may drop in a seemingly harmless white lie with no evil intent; either to protect people from the hurtful truth or to promote our self-image without hurting another. Yet, we seldom realize that these white lies have posed as a threat to our credibility and reliability as well as, perhaps even, starting a chain reaction that may lead onto a bigger lie that may be caused at the expense of another human being.
Human beings often despise the feeling of guilt and therefore justify our lies by saying that we are harming nobody in our process of lying. This is a matter I constantly face in my coming of age as an adolescent. When I am planning to go out with friends to say a theme park on a weekday, my mom would usually ask me where I was going to. I would shade and distort the truth in these instances to avoid her disapproval and the consequences.
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She Lies
credibilityTherefore, I choose to lie and say that I am going to a friend's house to work on a group project. Deep down inside I know the dangers and consequences of my actions, but I rationalize my actions as surely I am harming nobody. Without a doubt, my mother discovered that in fact I did not go to a friend's house but rather Ocean Park. I agree that I did not harm anybody through my lie but now the element of trust and my credibility has disappeared. I am still working hard to gain back my mother's trust in me through being honest and avoiding lies.
In addition, in the case of children and parents, at the death of a close relative, parents often tell their child that their beloved grandma, who has recently passed away,