This video inspired me to write this post. Lying to your children is wrong, dishonest, and in no way protects them.
People are not born knowing how to do things, they are taught by interactions and their surroundings. Most people live their lives day to day, slowly forming opinions about what the world is or should be. The truth is, no matter how sure we are about something, the mind, by nature, is curious, always changing and reevaluating things. Sometimes, when faced with the facts, it takes motivation to trade truth for pride.
As early as childhood, most people are taught lies, myths, and deceptions. For example, although done in good fun, most parents lie to their children about Christmas. Instead of teaching the truth about Christmas, children are taught that a fat old bearded man is going to slide down the chimney and bring presents on December 25th of each year. Most children know this is ludicrous, but the trust and reliability a child has for their parents lead them to believe. When Santa is revealed as fraud, we’re just children, and most of us are still not conscious to all the cold hard realities of the world.
Another example of the many lies taught to some people is the so-called mental deceases, such as anxiety, mood, depression, alcoholism, hyper-active, and other mental disorders. Diagnosing someone with a so-called mental disorder only excuses one’s actions. Instead of helping, disciplining, or trying other methods, many men, women, and children are medicated for their abnormal behavior. Prescription drugs only mask symptoms and do nothing to correct people’s so-called disorder. Trusting the doctor and not knowing any better, many people rely on the medication to get over their problems.
Third and nowhere near the least of the lies people are taught is in religion. Most religious groups believe that they have the truth, and only people with their same beliefs are saved. Most people rely on their preacher, pastor, or whatever other title religious leaders carry, to teach them the truth about spiritual matters. When, in actuality, that religious teacher may been misinformed or misguided by someone else. Sometimes the lies are deliberate and others are unintentionally caused by misinformation.
It is everyone’s responsibility to educate their self and not rely on others for the truth. For someone to change their mind does not always mean what he or she thought before was wrong. It means, based on the knowledge he or she had, that person was right. If someone only sees the good in their nation and has no knowledge of the injustice, is that person wrong for loving their country? At some point in every person’s life, we all have to see the world for what it is, instead of what we thought it was, or should be.
