Lies and the Lying Liars that Lie about (them)

(Apologies to Al Franken - who I hope will be my new senator in a few years - for embroidering on his book title)

Fun Monday - Topic: White Lies we have told. From the Other Bear and Uncaring Bear

My favorite episode of Buffy the Vampire Slater is called "Lie to Me". It refers to the heroine's knowledge that the world has bad entities in it and that we must all be constantly vigilant to keep evil at bay. I love that episode because she asks her mentor to lie and say that the world is a safe and rosy place for just that evening, when they both know it is not the case. Still there is a tenderness to the lull that allows them to pretend the world is really at peace. Like Buffy I know we must be constantly vifilant and have a very difficult time living in a world that is not always completely honest (even though there are times I like to dream it is.)



I'm simply not a person prone to lies. My father was a Kantian and for Immanuel Kant the famous enlightenment philosopher, lies were out of the question. Even if a murderer was asking where his victim-to-be was hiding, Kant said one had to tell the truth. His reasoning was that morals break down if one is unsure about whether and when to trust others.

Life, of course, is rarely that simple. I rarely recognize the murderers who ask me pointed questions - and in general I suffer from the inability to lie easily, even when everyone would be better off if I did. I told my aunt that I did not like her birthday gift one year. It was a leather hat and at the time I was a vegetarian, so I told her I did not want to be complicit in the murder of innocent animals. That wasn't a very good idea. It made her and my mother and father very angry with me and the animals that died and made up the hat were still dead and none the better for my honesty.

Because I tell the truth so easily, I also believe others as easily. My sister Min has told me all manner of improbable stories and I have believed her every single time. Austin, Texas is bigger than Chicago. It is a custom for construction workers to plant trees on top of buildings when they are finished. Stop signs aren't obligatory in Spring Branch, (a suburb of Houston, Texas). She knows so much about so many things and you know what, the world is a beautiful place with those things she has told me about. Last week she told me that Abe Vigoda is still alive -



I told her I believed her - but you know - I'm not really sure - Do you think she'll tell me the truth when he does die if he isn't dead already? She says he's livng indisguise in a bunker in lower Queens with Elvis and JFK where they play poker and smoke cigars all night long.



Can you imagine those conversations? I hope it is true. Tonight I do not want to have to be vigilant. Lie to me, even if just for a while.