Lying Is Sometimes Moral

We have been brought up to hate lying, which, always associated with insincerity, deceit, and even evil ,blinds others to the truth of a matter, hurt their feelings and interests, and even goes so far as to lead them astray. In most cases, people lie in that they go all out to maintain their vested interests or to shelter themselves from bad consequences, but often at the expense of others. In this sense, lying is immoral. However, there are moments when it is moral.

Lying sometimes protects us and others from unnecessary terrible consequences created by evil people. One of the story of Caesar, the famous military and political leader of ancient Roman empire, is a best illustration of this. Once, caught by pirates, who threatened to sell him for an amount of money, he laughingly said that freeing him would mean gaining ten times the money, without any danger to them. However, when he managed to get away because his men brought that amount of money in exchange for him, he broke his word by leading his troops to eliminate these pirates and then getting back the money. Pirates, known to intersect ships at sea and rob people of their valuables ,are absolutely evil in almost everyone’s mind. So in this case, Caesar lied to people’s satisfaction and benefit instead of doing anything immoral.

Lying is sometimes a motivation to people who are suffering from sense of guilty, inferiority and uncertainty. Dale Carnegie, a great American writer and lecturer, is keenly aware of the importance of complimenting others, even though they may not actually appear so shining for the moment. In his book how to influence others and win friends, he cites an example, in which his 19-year-old niece，who was sensitive and emotional, often messed things up due to youth and inexperience, but he resisted his temptation to criticize her for her mistakes despite his dissatisfaction with her. Instead, he smiled a suggestion that she was surprisingly excellent in comparison with what he had been like at her age and that with more experience and efforts, she would make something of herself. Finally, the girl did it. And here, Carnegie will never be blamed for not speaking out his true feelings, but will be greatly admired for his consideration and generation.

 When it comes to lying, anyone with conscience may target it with blame and criticism. However, what really matters is for us to go to the heart of a matter and think carefully why people lie and to whom they lie. When people lie, they are not always aimed at basing their benefits on others’ sufferings and loss. On the contrary, lying sometimes results from people’s goodwill, kindness and consideration, for they lie in an attempt to cushion them from the harsh truth. And sometimes, lying is also a reflection of people’s intelligence and braveness in dealing with evil people. So, lying is sometimes moral.

Contributed by my friend Zhang Xiaoyun.

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