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Politics : Sharks in the Septic Tank -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: epicure who wrote (50581)	6/12/2002 3:54:09 PM
From: Neocon	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 82486

A Brief Treatise on Lying<g> A lie is not judged solely by its material harmfulness, but by its divergence from the truth, which we ought to respect. On the other hand, there are instances when people generally agree that a lie is "white". First, it is white when the effect of maintaining purity in regard to truth would conflict with other values disproportionately (for example, one may lie to a criminal in order to thwart him). Second, it is white when one is maintaining one's privacy against illegitimate intrusion, and refusal to answer would constitute an admission. Third, there is an area of playfulness that allows dissembling, fantasy, and the utterance of falsehoods, as when we hide a surprise party. Now, in the case of politics, it is actually fine to lie for reasons of state, for example, in order to fool an enemy. It is still subject to the idea that the harm of telling the truth is exorbitant. Also, a politician has a right to some fibs to maintain a zone of privacy, including about his thoughts. Finally, the last excuse is rarely applicable except in the office. Of course, even if a lie is not "white", if it is the exception rather than the rule, one might hesitate to call someone a "liar". I would say that a liar is someone who has a very low bar to lying, and will generally resort to lying when it is useful to him. In my observation, although most politicians lie, even culpably, very few are liars.........