Lies - a new official language

Apparently there's a dog poop problem in Paris. No, seriously. It's everywhere: soiling fashionable footwear, flung about by passing mopeds and filling the air with noxious fumes. In fact, it has gotten so bad that the Parisian authorities have called in a force of undercover Police officers to issue substantial fines to those who brazenly perpetuate such odious acts.

I can just imagine how this goes down:

POLICE OFFICER

You there, halt!

WOMAN WITH DOG

Who me?

POLICE OFFICER

Your dog soiled the sidewalk, and you did not clean it up.

WOMAN WITH DOG

(defiantly)

Napoleon did no such thing!

POLICE OFFICER

You named your dog Napoleon?

(shaking his head)

Regardless, here is a fine for not scooping up the poo poo.

WOMAN WITH DOG

This is not Napoleon's poo poo -- and I am offended at such an accusation!

POLICE OFFICER

But miss, I saw it with my own eyes!

WOMAN WITH DOG

Fine. Then prove it.

So this was the train of thought that led me to a realization: if it wasn't for the video camera I think humankind would be a completely dishonest bunch.

I suppose if my hypothetical Police officer had video evidence he could prove his case beyond a shadow of a doubt. But shouldn't we the jury take the Sheriff's word for it?

Now I'm not talking about the integrity of Police or trusted authorities. What I am interested in is our general reluctance to take any anyone's word as gospel, even of those we should undoubtedly trust.

It used to be that a man's word was his bond. A "yes" was a "yes", and anything but this was to infringe on his honour and integrity. As a kid, there was nothing that got my boiling more than someone who lied to me. I felt it completely unacceptable and unjustifiable. And from my naive and innocent perspective, I was sure the rest of the world saw it the same way too.

I'm not sure when our collective penchant for dishonesty came about. I suppose if we go back far enough we'll end up with the ol' spinsters themselves, Adam and Eve. But I'm talking about a more recent phenomenon, call it the “evolution of the lie."

Perhaps the Cultures of the past had a clearer understanding of the prohibition against lying. The act was usually referred to as “bearing false witness” -- and thanks to Western civilization's Judeo-Christian roots most of our ancestors were fully aware of this verbal taboo. Regardless of the violators motive, to transgress this cardinal rule was an offense in and of itself.

Morally however, our present day media-saturated society views the concept of honest discourse somewhat differently -- and perhaps with a little contempt as well.

So what drives us to lie? Usually we tell them for two reasons: To get away with something we know is religiously or morally wrong; or to usurp something that is not rightfully ours. My guess is that nearly every lie in history falls into these two categories. But what if we didn't lie. What would life be like?

In the Ricky Gervais film The Invention of Lying we're given a glimpse into a world without the ability to lie. Everyone in this truthful world comes off as being a bit silly and gullible, because no one has developed the skills necessary to lie. When Gervais character Mark realizes his ability to deceive, he exploits it -- to his own detriment -- for monetary and personal gain. 

But let's face it. Our society rewards liars. From the crooks on Wall Street to the mild-mannered guest on Maury, we compensate these individuals even though we're fairly certain they are lying to us through their teeth.

I sense the ease with which we tell lies is strongly linked to a host of “environmental” factors – things like blind loyalty to employers or government, greed for money or lack thereof, sexual impulses, influence of media -- and so on.

And the lie is very much linked to one's perception of truth. We see this all the time in the news: Government spin doctors talking their way out of a scandal; Company PR reps misrepresenting or hiding the true nature of an oil spill or nuclear meltdown; Charlies Sheen's denial of mental insanity and drug use.

It's my gut feeling that one factor more then any other is responsible for our desensitization: advertising. The art of the advertisement is to make you aware of a product, then convince you of your need for it. You don't see ads for apples or nuts or celery, but you do see plenty of ads for things that aren't good for you. If a cave man got de-thawed and examined our current crop of TV commercials I'm sure he would be left scratching his head thinking “what does skydiving have to do with cheese cubes?”

My favourite deceivers are the lottery commercials. But you say “yeah, but someone wins those.” Sure, though it won't be you. Statistically, the odds of matching all six numbers on your Lotto 6/49 ticket are 1 in 13,983,816. To make you feel better, your odds of being murdered are 1 in 18,000. That's not to say this lottery thing is technically a lie, but it's close enough to one for me to make it so. (To see a world with truthful adds, click here.)

Joseph Goebbels (the Nazi propaganda Minister) once stated: "If you tell a lie big enough and keep repeating it, people will eventually come to believe it." That's what is so dangerous about the environment we've created for ourselves. Think about how often you see the same commercial through the course of an evening's TV viewing. Repetition is a key to remembering things. And if we as a society are espousing and regurgitating these things over and over we'll undoubtedly start to believe our own propaganda.

On the personal and individual level, there is a difference between the way the two sexes approach lying. Apparently men prefer the bald faced lie: “No honey, I'm not sleeping with my co-worker.” Women prefer rather to omit vital details and obscure the truth: “Honey, we weren't sleeping together." Men tend to exaggerate, women tend to minimize.

Men also lie more than women. The average man lies over 1000 times a year. This compares with just over 700 times a year for women.

So what effect does this have on us?  I guess it takes us back to the video camera, recording us and holding us to our word. Without some sort of accountability, both individually and corporately, the spoils of dishonesty will always tempt us to the inevitable lie.