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Why Do We Lie

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Recommended: Mass media influence on public opinion

Everybody lies. There will be some people quick to deny that, but I doubt there is one person out there that hasn’t lied at least once in their life. It doesn’t have to be a big lie as there are things called white lies. Little lies that mean no harm to the people around them. Maybe you’re trying to surprise someone so you tell them something that might not be true, but it’s said only to deter them from finding out about the party planned for them. We were taught not to lie, but the very people who taught us that were the ones who lied about a pudgy man that somehow fit down our chimney, ate the cookies left out for him, and left gifts under the tree for the kids who made the nice list. Not all lies are meant to harm, but the ones that are can be detrimental. President Donald Trump has made 2,001 false or misleading claims in 355 days (Kessler, Kelly 1). These are not white lies but just point-blank lies. We encourage people not to lie on the daily, but …show more content…

The truth matters to a certain extent. Conservative, liberal, dog, cat – it doesn’t matter what you identify as because everyone has a confirmation bias. Molded by our surroundings, everyone has an idea of what’s right and wrong. Your very beliefs dictate a lot of things such as who you associate with, the way you express yourself, and sometimes even more material things such as how you dress or what stickers are on your car. “You seek out safe havens for your ideology, friends, and coworkers of like mind and attitude, media outlets guaranteed to play nice.” (McRaney 15). President Trump could pull the most bizarre lie out of his rump, and a good chunk of his followers would believe it

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A lie is an intentionally false statement. There are many types of lies in society which Stephanie Ericsson categorizes in her story “The Ways We Lie.” Ericsson divides types of lies into ten different groups such as the white lie, facades, ignoring the plain facts, deflecting, omission, stereotypes and clichés, groupthink, out-and-out lies, dismissal and delusion. The white lie is considered a lie that does not hurt people’s feelings. A white lie is a lie when one knows that the truth will affect another person’s feelings. Depending on the situation, Ericsson explains on how the relationship is with one another.

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The Ways We Lie By Stephanie Ericsson

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As Ericsson puts it, “We lie. We all do. We exaggerate, we minimize, we avoid confrontation, we spare people’s feelings, we conveniently forget, we keep secrets, we justify lying. . .” (Ericsson, 2004, p. 120). These all exhibit forms of lies that people use every day.

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In The Way We Lie by Stephanie Ericsson telling such little white lies is done in order to save someone's feelings from being hurt. Though it could also be argued the person themselves have alternative motives, such as not wanting to be seen as a bad friend or person. While these actions are more or less admirable, it is still nevertheless lying. While Donald Trump's motive for using artifice, is simple, he wants the population to like him and believe he is a good president. His motive are more narcissistic than most, wanting only to be liked, makes him a manipulative liar.

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Stephanie Ericsson The Way We Lie Analysis

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However, it gave false hope to the household what one day he might come home. Furthermore, each lie is different some are bigger than others, but even the smallest of lies can do the most damage. Ericsson (1992) says, "The white lie assumes that the truth will cause more damage than a simple, harmless untruth" (p. 160). Telling a white lie is unnecessary and can lead to arrogance.

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Everyone has lied during their life for different reasons. A four-year-old will lie about the cookie they stole, or the haircut they obviously just gave themselves. A teenager will say they gave their best effort on their homework when they were really watching Netflix. Both people want to avoid trouble, yet the consequences of getting caught are not life threatening. However, there are periods in history during which people needed to lie to save their lives.

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In “The Way We Lie”, author Stephanie Ericsson gives her readers a list of ten lie we sometime use it for a purpose and sometime we did not realize we did it. She starts out her story with four lie she used in the same morning as she is starting out her day. She explains these lie are intentionally use to minimize the complications and make the day goes much smoother. However, she questions whether these lie can actually make an impact on the person who carry out and the person who receive the lie.

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Lies are mentioned for bountiful reasons; lies can be invaluable to others or used for a greedy, egoistical reason. No matter the motive, lies are frequently told everyday. Even in the concentration camps of World War II, there were no exceptions. In the novel Night, Elie Wiesel is caught naturally lying to mislead his relative, Stein even though Wiesel has a chance to tell the truth, he decides against it. Even though he lied, I believe that Wiesel's lie was morally right.

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Lying diminishes trust between human beings. If people generally did not tell the truth, life would become very difficult, as nobody could be trusted and nothing a person heard or read could be trusted Everyone would have to find everything out for himself. Lying is bad because it treats those who are lied to as a means to achieve the liar’s purpose, rather than as a valuable end in themselves. Lies are bad for a person's health also, It can cause a person's brain to get used to lying about things and to get in a habit that is not one that a person needs to get

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In the real world, however, white lies can benefit your social life instead of hinder it. Ultimately, in my experience, lying is not that good unless it’s to cushion the blow of anything. In Acts 1 and 2 of The Crucible, people are often motivated to be dishonest because they do not want to suffer. In Act 1, Tituba lies because she does not want to be hung for her.

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This quote says that lying happens frequently; no one can resist it. It also says lying is deadly, which is also shown in the Bible within the story of Adam and Eve, when the serpent lies to Eve, convincing her to consume the sacred fruit. In modern society, lying is a common practice. A person may lie protect themselves, or to gain something wanted. This may be due to religious diversity or the decay of respect in society.

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One of the greatest commandments written in history is “Thou Shalt not lie.” From a young age we have been taught of the negative effects of lying. We are taught, as toddlers, not to cheat on tests and punished for our dishonesty when caught. But as we grow older we discover that lying is not as terrible as we were raised to believe. Sometimes lying is safer than the truth.

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Stephanie Ericsson The Ways We Lie Essay

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Stephanie Ericsson begins her explorative essay, “The Ways We Lie,” with a personal anecdote of all the lies she fabricated in one day. She told her bank that a deposit was in the mail when it was not, told a client that the traffic had been bad when she was late for other reasons, told her partner that her day was fine when it was really exhausting, and told her friend she was too busy for lunch when she just was not hungry, all in the course of a day. She shifts from talking about herself to talking about everyone, claiming that all people lie, exaggerate, minimize, keep secrets, and tell other lies. But, like herself, most still consider themselves honest people. She describes a week in which she tried to never tell a lie; it was debilitating, she claims.

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Lying has not been formally considered morally wrong or right regardless of the severity. Although it’s near impossible to go through a whole day without even stretching the truth once and decide which types of lies are okay or not. Stephanie Ericsson uses strong metaphors and personal experiences in “The Ways We Lie” to justify the use of our everyday lying. This unbiased essay will help readers decide whether it’s okay to lie on a daily basis. Ericsson starts out with saying she told the bank that her deposit was in the mail even though she hadn't written out the check (495).

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