Truth and Lies Essay Example for Free

Truth and Lies Essay There are different types of lies. Distorted views and fabricated truths are two of them. Misunderstanding, on the other hand, is not a lie. Misunderstanding is a when we fail to understand something correctly and accurately. This happens a lot in our daily lives. A lot of conflicts and hard feelings are caused by this mistake. In order to avoid it, we should be more careful about the way we express our opinions and feelings. Simultaneously, we should listen to what people say and understand what they mean carefully. Sometimes, we misunderstand a fact. We can correct by asking others about that or study about it. C. G. Lichtenberg once said: â€Å"The most dangerous of all falsehoods is a slightly distorted truth†. When we see the reality through distorted eyes, it can have an extreme effect on our emotions, thoughts and our interactions with other people. Imagine you want to drive to school today. Surprisingly, you see the green lights red and the red lights green. Needless to say, you stop at green lights and pass the red lights. You will be shouted at both times. You wonder why people are shouting at you without any reason, and after a while you get anxious and angry. You decide not to pay attention to traffic lights anymore. The reason is obvious: accident. This is what happens in our lives when have distorted views toward facts and reality. We had better change our views and try to solve this problem. Fabricated truths are the lies that are used to mislead people for centuries. These are so-called truths that are invented in order to deceive. We can see them in all aspects of life from religion to science and politics. Telling these lies is not limited to authorities, scientist or religious people in power. Ordinary people produce lies everyday to achieve what they want. We can’t fight these lies. All we can do is to research and seek the truth ourselves or at least don’t accept them easily and without proof. The truth is hard to find for different reasons. First of all, all people want others to have a positive picture of them in mind. They don’t want their lies to be revealed and they try hard to maintain that positive image of themselves. This is why people try to show that they are not responsible when something negative happens. So they lie about it. When something positive happens, people want to take credit for it. They lie again! This is also the case for different groups, organizations, religions, etc. who claim to have the â€Å"truth†. They don’t have the complete truth. This is what gets people in trouble. These groups don’t want their followers to find out their weaknesses and stop their support. So they tell people a lot of lies and try to sustain them. In addition, lying is a part of human nature. Sometimes people say the same lie so often that they forget the real truth and start believing their own lies. Furthermore, people don’t want to hear the truth. We prefer a good story rather than the fact. We actually don’t like to deal with truth. We want to believe something, so we assume that it’s the truth. Johann Wolfgang von Goethe said: â€Å"We are never deceived; we deceive ourselves. † Another reason is that lies spread faster than truth, especially in the internet and other media. As Mark Twain said: â€Å"A lie can travel half way around the world while the truth is putting on its shoes. † Sometimes, there is enough so-called evidence to support both sides of the conflict, the falsehood and the truth. So people are actually sitting on the fences when facing them. So the truth won’t be revealed. Sometimes, the truth is out there, but we don’t seek for it and we expect others to provide it for us. These might be the reasons of most hidden truths. Whatever the reason is, people don’t want their lies and dishonest behavior to be revealed. When someone exposes the truth, their positive image is ruined. So they attack that person. People don’t try to disclose the truth when they are attacked. So some truths are not revealed because of this. Sometimes, the truths is easy to find, but hard to accept. We are lied to a lot and some of our beliefs are shaped according to those lies. When we find the truth, it seems like a vague idea that doesn’t fit the lies. So we can’t accept it and it’s like we have never found the truth. The complete truth is not told most of the time. Thomas Sowell said: â€Å"There are only two ways of telling the complete truth: anonymously and posthumously†.