Ever since childhood we have been taught by adults to never lie and to always be truthful because that is the morally good thing to do. We are led to believe that this is how everyone should treat each other in life. Yet as life goes on you realize that the one true lie in this world is that lying is wrong.

Lies have been portrayed in a negative way for all of history. A prime example of this would be propaganda. Propaganda has been used for a very long time mainly in support of negative causes such as war, dictatorships, or racism. But, propaganda has evolved to the point where we can’t even recognize it when we see it. It has become the modern day advertisement. We have all seen an advertisement online that makes us want to buy something or consume something unknowingly, and this feeling keeps on burrowing into your mind until you finally break and buy that product.

Advertisements are bad because they influence you to buy their product and contribute more into their monopoly of products and gives powerful businessmen even more money and influence. Advertisements stimulate the economy and instigate consumerism which increases the living conditions and happiness of the people. One lie does not have just one meaning, but can be seen in many different lights.

lying can be used for various reasons not just for deception, but can be used time and time again for good. For example, “surprise” can be seen as a lie especially when a “surprise party” is with good intentions, but still a lie. You could be sparing someone’s feelings just like how Paul lied to Kemmerich’s mother about his death to spare her the grief. A historical example would be how Russian workers would lie to the dictator, Joseph Stalin, about meeting their quota for the month because they knew that they would be killed if they told the truth. 

Lies are a perfect example of the duality of man. We can either lie for the pursuit of self interest or for the care of others. Lies are a human instinct of survival. It is what keeps our business alive through competition, us safe in danger, and most importantly us alive in a world of lies