3. ... Or Just Shut Up

I was reading a couple of articles about lying today. They claimed that the average adult lies between 200 and 300 times per day, or roughly three times every ten minutes (this includes so-called "white lies"). Also, most people apparently assume they've been lied to a lot, and think that most of their own lies are acceptable.

I'll keep this one short: a lie shows not only a certain amount of contempt for the listener (in that you don't respect him/her enough to tell the truth) and for yourself (in that you don't think people care enough to hear the truth from you). Deny it all you want, but there are varying degrees to which that's true for every person and every lie.

Doesn't matter if you want to preserve someone's feelings; the more we lie, the more apathetic we become about lying, and the more it happens without the appropriate retribution. (You'll notice that this ties into my previous post; that's why I chose it as a topic).

So, obviously, you'll want to be careful about what you hear, and don't be afraid to call someone on his/her lie(s). But, more importantly-- much more importantly-- start demanding better of yourself. Don't be afraid to tell the truth; bravery seems to be such an important aspect of adulthood, and yet we're all so afraid of telling people what we really think. When you're uncompromisingly honest with others, they'll soon be uncompromisingly honest with you, and then with each other.

Let's start some good trends for a change; we owe the world something for invoking over ten seasons of Big Brother upon it.