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Lying: It's The Truth By Randy Cohen

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Lying: It's The Truth By Randy Cohen
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Madison Wedge
Mrs. Elliott
English 4 Period 1
November 17, 2014

Truth Loving
Have you ever told a lie in the past that somehow found its way to your future? Lies, no matter the size or even the date that you told them, may create one heck of a mess. In contemporary society, most individuals lie on a daily basis and in some cases do so without realizing that they aren’t telling the whole truth. Unfortunately, lying has proven itself to be a negative aspect in our past and still holds itself to be a negative aspect in present day life. Lying is not only harming society and our social order, but it is also harming relationships, bottling up individuals emotions, and complicating your life. Lying is never justified.
Excellent intro! Nicely
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First of all, lying is potentially hurting your relationships and is disrespectful to all individuals involved in the lie. In the article “It’s the truth: Americans conflicted about lying”, the author discusses the viewpoint of noted ethics columnist Randy Cohen. Cohen states “Still, every lie has its cost, and that’s just another factor you need to consider…once a person finds out you lied, you lose currency in their eyes”. Once an individual is aware that you lie, it is apparent that you will lose a given amount of respect that was given to you. Lying also presents itself to be disrespectful to others because you are consciously not telling them the truth and are building your relationship with said person off of false ground. Mary Adler declares, in her article “A

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Philosopher on Lying”, “Don’t tell someone a lie…because then you are not treating that person with respect, as an individual. You are just using them to get what you want.”
Second, lying unnecessarily complicates your life and forces you to keep track of all of your lies. In the article “Brad Blanton: Honestly, Tell the Truth”, the author Barbara Ballinger interviews Brad Blanton. When asked why withholding information is so terrible, Blanton
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In the article “Teens do their share of lying” by Loretta Ragsdell, a teen states that in order to get out of a situation when ambushed and caught in a lie “You lie again”. By lying repeatedly, you are forced to complicate your life by remembering every little thing you lied about.
Lastly, lying is breaking down our society and forming our young individuals into weaker ones. The truth holds society together and allows for individuals to emit true emotions. By lying, many bottle up their emotions to cover up the truth of what they are truly feeling. “You should be able to get mad­even holler­ but after a while be able to laugh and let things pass.
“ (Blanton). Lying is making it so that individuals are afraid to show true emotion and are starting to believe that lying is okay to do in society. In the article “A Philosopher on Lying”
Adler discusses the viewpoint of German philosopher Immanuel Kant. Kant states that without the truth “You wouldn’t know who to trust or who to believe, and even the laws that hold society together would fall apart…don’t start”

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