We’ve heard it since the day we entered kindergarten “honesty is the best policy”, but it seems the overuse of this cliché has taken its toll. The value of honesty in society is dwindling quickly while stories of liars are praised as heroic. To be honest I think these liars are finally receiving the praise they deserve. While lying shouldn’t be relied on too often, in certain circumstances, it can be the right thing to do. In the Shakespeare’s play, Much Ado About Nothing, Don Pedro devises a plan to make Benedict and Beatrice fall in love with one another. The intentions of this scheme are good since clearly Beatrice and Benedict are in love but both too stubborn to admit it, but for the plan to work effectively some harmless lying must be done. At the end of act II, Don Pedro, Claudio, and Leonato all must lie to convince Benedict of Beatrice’s fake obsession with him. Claudio goes as far as to say “Hero thinks surely she will die; for she says she will die, if he love her not…” (II,3,144-145). Although this may seem like an extreme lie to make, Claudio has no hesitation in saying it because he believes it’s for a good cause. When lying for the benefit of others, it will usually be accepted by the community.
Outside of literature, lying is even more prevalent. Sometimes it’s best to just tell a quick harmless lie. For instance, I remember going to a wedding with my family, and just before we popped into the car, my mom ask “How do I look?” I replied “Oh, a little heavy on the eye shadow” (the eye shadow wasn’t horrible, I’m just rather particular). Needless to say, we didn’t leave for another half hour. That’s an situation where a simple “You look great!” would have boosted my mother’s confidence and gotten us out the door half an hour earlier. Another instance of an acceptable lie was during WWII when people, such as the workers of Otto Frank, were hiding Jews or in their homes. The workers told the Nazis they did not know of the Frank’s location while in reality they were hiding them in the attic. These Jewish sympathizers who lied to save lies are now viewed as heroes. Lying should not be relied on too heavily, but when it’s done to benefit others it is often accepted as the right thing to do.
