Lies, Lies, Lies
VIEWPOINT
by Judy B. Rosener
Whether one looks at the professions, corporations, government, religion, sports or entertainment, lying seems to be center stage.
Martha Stewart has been convicted of lying about a stock transaction. Enron executives face jail terms because they lied about energy deals. Staples was caught lying about destruction of old-growth forests and its purchasing practices. Microsoft settled claims that it lied about its earnings.
President Eisenhower admitted to lies about U2 flights. The Johnson administration lied about conditions on the ground during the Vietnam War. President Nixon stepped down as president when among other things, he was found to have lied about Watergate. President Reagan’s death reminded us of many of his alleged lies about the country’s dealings with Iran-contra. President Clinton admitted lying about a sexual liaison. Many accuse President George W. Bush, Vice President Dick Cheney and Secretary of State Colin Powell of lying about the rationale for going to war in Iraq.
Journalists at the Washington Post and the New York Times have admitted to lying in stories they wrote, and just last week, Newsday and the Chicago Sun-Times admitted lying about circulation figures. Books with the words lie or lies in their titles are conspicuous. Honest reporting no longer is assumed: TV anchors feel compelled to remind us we are getting “the truth” when we watch their programs.
Priests and bishops have lied for years about child molestation within the Catholic Church, and some religious charities have been accused of not telling the truth about how their funds are allocated. It is assumed that sports figures lie when asked about their use of drugs. Doctors increasingly are sued for lying about charges for unfounded patient visits and treatments on insurance forms.
The financial pages are full of stories about executives, lawyers and CPAs who have lied. CNN/Money last year even posted an Internet article, “Is the Fed lying?” in which the author stated that some economists say “policy-makers fib about how worried they are about inflation and jobs.”
Lying on resumes has become so common, career development counselors have found it necessary to make it a high priority on their “don’t do” lists,skeptical recruiters check credentials and work histories more than ever. Coloring the truth, if not outright lying, is so prevalent in contemporary discourse that it has its own word: spin.
Given this kind of anecdotal evidence about lying, the question is, what is meant by the term “to lie,” and why is there so much lying today?
Professor Sissela Bok, author of the path-breaking book, “Lying,” defines a lie as “a statement, believed by the liar to be false, made to another person with the intention that the person be deceived by the statement.”
So, in its most precise meaning, one needs to believe his or her statements to be false, and there must be an intention to deceive. Both of course, are often hard to prove.
At the same time, a study was done to determine the percentage of people who felt they lied or were dishonest. Surprisingly, 90% of the respondents admitted to not being truthful under certain circumstances. The study contained questions such as: “Do you compliment people when you really don’t mean it?” “Do you tell your spouse to tell callers you are not at home when you are there?” “Do you exaggerate when repeating things you have heard?” “Do you cheat on your income tax return?” Most of the answers to these questions were yes, and while they can be viewed as “little white lies,” they are indicative of the lying slippery slope. Big lies are often the consequence of feeling comfortable with little lies.
A recent study by the Cherenson Group, a Livingston, N.J.-based public relations firm, found that nearly 60% of adults believe that stock market woes are caused by corporate lying and dishonesty, almost four times more than other factors including the economy (15%) and the threat of terrorism (10%).
Take heed: The research also found that 86% of adults say that if presented with two products or services of equal quality, they would actually pay more if the company had an excellent reputation for being honest with customers, employees and shareholders. So it appears that lying should be considered a “bottom line” business issue, and since most citizens don’t trust their public officials, it should be considered a “bottom line” political issue as well.
It’s difficult to know why lying, whatever its form, is so widespread in our institutions, and with few notable exceptions, continues unabated. Perhaps, the answer is the one ex-President Clinton gave when asked about Monica Lewinsky, “I did it because I could!”
Rosener is a professor in the Graduate School of Management at UC Irvine and a noted author and speaker.
