Should we always tell the truth?

This question bothers all of us at sometime or other. Many of us are told by our parents, teachers, and other elders, to always tell the truth; though we observe that they themselves tell lies at the drop of hat! On thinking deeply, we can see that the truth is that it would not be wise to always tell the truth. There are situations where we just have to tell lies, and others where it would be wiser to tell lies than to tell the truth. A person would surely have to lie in order to save himself, or another, from death or injury; when it would cause more harm to tell the truth than to tell a lie; and, when it would be harmless to tell a lie.

The most important justification we can have for not telling the truth is to save a life, either ours, or someone else's. Imagine a situation where a person has been kidnapped and is being threatened with death, and all it

takes is for the person to deny that he or she is the person the kidnapper wants. Surely withholding the truth would be justified. In another case, assume that some aggressive men are in pursuit of another, and that the fugitive is hiding in plain sight of us. Would it make sense to tell the truth and point out the fugitive and watch him get injured or killed, when telling a lie could save his life?

Another situation where it would be justified not to tell the truth would be when we know that the truth would cause more harm than a lie. Imagine a situation where a relative is so ill that the slightest bad news could cause a shock and cause his health to deteriorate or even kill him. If the relative asks about the nature of his illness, surely it would be right to withhold the truth from him and tell him he is recovering? Such cases are sometimes in the news.

Finally, there are instances when the truth is withheld and even instances of blatant lies being told that do no harm. One such type of lie is known as the 'diplomatic lie'. Diplomats are known to feign illness to avoid meetings where the issue at stake is a matter that they would rather not face at that particular time. More than all this, we frequently lie to children to protect them from danger. Most of us do not tell the truth all the time; however, I believe that only vicious lies that cause serious damage to others or to their reputations would be wrong. Surely, to withhold the truth where no one gets hurt is like a crime where there is no victim?

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