Liar, Liar, Pants on Fire!

I've noticed that lying comes very easy for some people. I once worked (for 1 1/2 weeks) for a prominent auto dealer in our state. The trainer was one of the top five car salesmen in the nation. He was able to get commitments from people in the grocery store to come in for test drives. He would call random numbers and do the same thing over the phone. He wasn't the most ethical person I've ever met, and the whole sales floor mirrored that lack. But he did say one thing that has stuck with me.

He said, "You will see that anyone will lie to you. It doesn't matter who it is. Your neighbor will lie to you. Even your bishop will lie to you. When you ask them what car they would like, they will answer that they are only 'just looking' in order to keep you from bothering them. and they won't think of it as a lie because you are 'just a car salesman' and don't deserve the truth."

Just the other day, I caught a student in a fairly big lie. The beauty of it was the fact that I caught him at parent-teacher conferences with his mother right there. She was considerably upset at him, and I had to keep myself from laughing out loud.

It never ceases to amaze me, though, how many people will lie, and, again, how easily some of them do it. Granted, I don't always tell THE WHOLE TRUTH, but there are times when I feel that can be cruel. I, for instance, have never told any kid they can't sing. Even if they can't. Part of this stems from the fact that I believe they can learn to sing if they work hard and long enough. I just won't be around to see some of them reach that goal.

I know it would be incredibly naive of me to believe that everyone is capable of being honest, but it does still shock me when people lie so readily to me, especially when the lie is so blatantly obvious and stupidly presented.

Oh, well, at least I may still get to keep laughing...