Lying - Inevitable and the Key to Happiness

We, as humans, have all told lies. In fact, we spout lies each and every day, often without faltering. Many times, we tell lies to impress people, to make things sound better than they are, or for no reason at all. Deception is second nature to us, so we tell unnecessary lies for no reason, often because they come out of our mouths unbidden. However, little harmless lies can amount to suspicion and distrust, as was the case in
Ruth Rendell's short novelette, "The Thief".

Polly, the main character in this story, lied and stole since she was a child, but ever since she met Alex, her new boyfriend, she stop lying. However, one day on a plane trip, Polly was forced to sit beside an extremely rude man. The man enraged her to such a point that she stole his luggage. She planned to dispose of it, but couldn't after she found out that it contained money. In spite of her hatred for the man, she decided to return the suitcase. The preparations Polly needed to take required her to lie to Alex, who was a trusting person, so he believed what she said. However, in the end, too many lies amounted to Alex's distrust which ultimately made Alex leave her. Polly was then devastated.

Clearly the moral of this story is telling us not to lie, but is that possible? Truthfully, it is, but it's highly unlikely. Not only that, but lying can bring us happiness. It is self deception that produces enough ignorance for us to have a blind eye towards world crisis and keep us in our little closed paradise, never worrying about the grand scheme.

In conclusion, whether they're small white lies or dangerous and fatal ones, they will always be there and we will always be liars. Nevertheless, all of this doesn't make us bad, it merely makes us human.