Protection is a key instinct in human nature. The human survival rate is drastically higher than other animals like fish and birds due to strong parental care throughout life; after all, a parent's basic instinct is to protect his/her offspring from getting hurt. However, lying in order to protect one's offspring has two conflicting ideas. Should we protect our children from the evils of the world, or should we expose them to reality, so they can learn from history's mistakes? In the satirical poem, "The History Teacher," Billy Collins questions the reader on the extent of protection that builds up and eventually leads to lying.
There isn't a clear-cut sensor in our brain that tells us whether we should lie or tell the truth. We use our conscience to construct a mode of action suitable to the situation. If you had to lie in order to save one's life, the immediate reaction would be to lie. On the other hand, if you had to lie in order to save face, that would be immoral and dishonest. Those seem to be two completely different viewpoints, right? Now, how about telling your kids about divorce or death, which may permanently alter their behavior and personality? Can they "handle the truth?" Obviously, our own morality and integrity tells us to tell the truth... ALWAYS! Many people say lying is simply immoral and deceitful. However, there must exceptions to this moral code such as preventing harm or pain to yourself as well as others. The history teacher in Billy Collins' poem personally believes that his conscience is telling him to do the right thing in order to save the innocence of his students, but he fails to recognize that his teaching materials shapes his student's character to shield themselves from the evils of the world rather than be oblivious to those evils.
This morning, I was listening to Imagine Dragon's new hit song, "Demons." In the chorus, he sings these lyrics, "I wanna hide the truth. I wanna shelter you. But with the beast inside, There’s nowhere we can hide. No matter what we breed, We still are made of greed." This exemplifies how protecting someone through lying is useless; the truth will always reveal itself. Our conscience decides whether to lie or tell the truth. but it is important to keep in mind that lying should not impede on others' ability to pursue happiness. Innocence is a gift. Humans, kids and adults alike, should be kept innocent and happy from the true evils in this world. In the end, it truly depends on one's strong conscience to decide to act in the best fitting manner.
Wow, I love how you connected Imagine Dragon's Demons into the theme of lying. I never really paid attention to those lyrics, but darn are they powerful. However, is there an age where the gift of "innocence" should be protected? I do not think it wise to expose a two year old to the horrors of something like the 9/11 attack. I believe that there is a certain age where innocence should be protected and if it must be achieved by lying, so be it.
ReplyDeleteYou bring up a great point, Jason! I too believe that there should be a certain age when innocence should be protected. It sounds weak, but I truly think that it depends on the situation. You don't teach a young toddler about drugs or sex or death; they're too young for that! Innocence is a gift and it should always be kept that way.
ReplyDeleteJust an add-on. This afternoon, I was watching Grown Ups, and one of the mothers in the movie accidentally revealed the truth about the "Tooth Fairy." Similar to "The History Teacher," we see the conflict between truth and innocence. Every time we lose our tooth as a child, we tucked it under our bed so that the Tooth Fairy would give us some money in exchange. Every Christmas, we happily slept on Christmas Eve because we knew that Santa would give us presents since we had been good kids the whole year. In reality, there is no Tooth Fairy. There is no Santa. (or maybe there is!) Now, do you want to tell a happy child enjoying his childhood that there is no Santa? That there is no Tooth Fairy? No, innocence is certainly a gift that must be cherished, but there is a time (that's different for every person) when that innocence must be shed.
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