I seem to remember a study done years ago, by some business school professor-his conclusion was yes. From highly deceptive advertising, to the fine print on agreements, to general conversation.
It seems to me the guy wasright-take restaurants: they will advertise a dish , say veal parmigini-and you order it to find that you have been served some kind of “mystery meat”. Or take patent medicines (diet drugs)-the little disclaimer “results not typical”-speaks volumes.
Or government-you pay a special tax (“earmarked” for education)-and find that it goes to something else.
So, given the rampant dishonesty, why don’t we just accept it and assume everything is untrue. Is this the best way?
Did the study in question compare American culture to other cultures?
Produce the study, and we have something to talk about.
Bewfore you go any further in this discussion, I would urge all interested in the topic to read this article and possibly explore more in other articles mentioned.
You will find lying is part and parcel of the human condition and is even beyond our control.
Ye… I mean, no. Of course not.
No.
Cite for the veal example?
The medicines aren’t actually lying, and you should know better than to trust certain things.
Cite for the government example?
Valete,
Vox Imperatoris
I agree that lying is common, partly because people fill-in the blanks of what they want their reality to be with their imagination. But lying is not beyond our control, we can be honest if we wish. It takes courage, a lot of it, and you don’t have to hurt others. It is not so much what you say as how you say it. Be kind.
Yeah, but religious schools count praying for guidance during an exam as cheating.
I smell burning. Pants I think. 
Somebody got paid to write that juvenile piece of shit?
In effect, we’re all weasels and want to avoid hard truths.
Please tell me the author is a very young person.
BwanaBob
Dr. Robert Feldman is a University of Massachusetts psychologist and an expert in his field and a well known authority on the behavior of lying.
It is fine to disagree with his findings if you find some area of dispute. To attack him in the manner you did does not serve you or any pursuit of truth.
Perhaps it is the message that offends you rather than the messenger? Perhaps his findings do not sit well with your own personal beliefs about yourself or others?
I read that study.
In fact, I wrote it. Yeah, that’s the ticket.
With my wife…Morgan Fairchild!
Yet from right above that paragraph.
So our public schools, where church is so wonderfully separated from state, must have the highest rate of cheating.
This won’t work. In the final analysis, all of civilization and society are based on honesty. There must be at least some voluntary honesty from the majority of people or else the entire social structure simply breaks down.
For example, store shopping depends on most people not shoplifting most of the time. If everybody decided to take as much as they could without paying, stores simply wouldn’t be able to stay in business. So some measure of voluntary honesty is needed there.
Investing also requires honesty. I give my money to the Vanguard Group and simply make the assumption that they’re investing it where they say they are, and that the numbers on my reports are accurate reflections of what I’ve earned. A sufficiently intelligent person could set up a fraudulent investment group and evade the safeguards. (See: Madoff, Enron, and others that haven’t been caught yet). The entire financial system rests on the assumption that most bigwigs are voluntarily playing by the rules.
You are almost-exactly right.
I think it’s a function of English with its ability to qualify superlatives.
As I say, from menus to advertising, everything is borderline. Last week, I went to a “seafood” restaurant, and ordered seafood Newburgh. Guess what the “crabmeat” in it was? It was “surimi”.:smack:
Yes.