Lies, half lies, and errors

"Liar, liar, pants on fire..."

Children's rhyme from 1841

Ever since Barack Obama, we have been lied to (or told un-truths) so many times by our government, calling someone a liar has become part of our accepted lexicon. During most of my life, calling someone a liar was a "line in the sand" comment. In other words, the term "liar" once was so toxic, if you used it on another person, you probably poisoned that relationship. Today, many times being called a liar, is met with a "meh...".

Yesterday, I mistakenly referred to a CDC "recommendation" as a "mandate". My mistake. It was an error. Not deliberate - just an error. My daughter pointed it out to me, and I corrected it. No biggie. Then I moved on. However, one of my social media "friends", was not so kind. He called me a liar for using the wrong word. A true friend, instead of a social media "friend", would have also gently reminded me I used the wrong term. Not this person. 

It really did not bother me that much when is happened. I am almost getting used to rude behavior on social media. Why? It is the landscape in which we live today. But this morning on the radio, one of the hosts said something interesting - we have become so polarized on EVERYTHING, there is no more middle ground on ANYTHING. He said trying to swim in the waters between the two sides, is almost impossible. Bingo! We are either black or white, ying or yang, red or blue. And that is leading to more and more tribalism. More and more rude behavior.

Here is an example of a lie. I tell my neighbor that last week I traveled to Oregon to find Big Foot. And I did see one! It was amazing! Only my neighbor had seen me in my yard every day last week. He knew I never left town. So he knew I was lying. A deliberate un-truth.

Here is an example of a half lie, otherwise once known as a "white lie". I am taking a post graduate course on a subject I needed to have, but was not very interested in it. The professor however, is doing her best to make it interesting and viable. But to me, it was still horrible.

One day, I ran into the professor at the store. After greeting her, she asked how I like the class so far. I told her I like it fine, and I appreciate all the work she is putting in to teaching it. Why didn't I tell her the truth and tell her I thought it was dreadful? It would have been hurtful to her. It would have served no purpose. Besides, I did appreciate all the work she was putting into teaching it. That was pure truth. 

An error is using the wrong term, calling someone by the wrong name, making a typo, and so forth. They are mistakes, errors, and unintentional goofs. As one of my former mentors always told me, "We are humans. We make mistakes. That is why we have erasers on pencils."

I guess my bottom line is this. I get into debates with real social media friends most every day. I try to be respectful, as do they. Others unfortunately, do not. My hope is if you are going to call someone a "friend" on social media, you act like one. If not, please feel free to unfriend me.