"Would I Lie to You?"

Honesty is the best policy. Certainly it's the easiest policy. Saying it's better is a "moral" judgment that has no place in these secular times. But what the hell,..let's say honesty is a "good" long term,..nondenominational, policy.

It's main virtue is that it's easier.

You don't have to remember anything. Not nothing ya home free. Now of course lying or dishonesty is an excellent short term strategy. I stress "short term" for it's main virtue,..immediate usefulness, is also it's main weakness.

Sure lying through ya teeth will get ya out of a jam okay, but there's the inevitable liabilities attached.

Lies no matter how inventive or subtle work only in the immediate short term. After that they need constant maintenance.

Indeed the more complex or interesting the lie the 'more' maintenance it will need. If you engage serial lying you'll have some serious shit cut out for you.

You'll have to remember many people, times, places, and incidents. You'll have to keep all these often conflicting elements updated, and perfectly matched on a regular basis.

I mean com'on a special "negative reality" program will be required to manage your personal or business agenda. '...and need I point out that servicing a "Lying Bastard" file on any electronic information retrieval system is just asking for trouble!

Now with "honesty" or a reasonable level of honesty. I mean gimme a break absolute honesty will just get ya slapped in the face!

However with "general" honesty things are dramatically simpler. There's no need or hardly any need for data storage.

You can forget just about everything you've ever said or done. A blessing as many of us are getting on in years, and can't remember shit anyhow.

So to sum up, managing lies is just too damned much work, and nobody will thank you for it neither! Honesty 'is' the best policy!

See 'turns out our Grandma was right all along!
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(Above is a snapshot of Obama's new House in 1842. Below is when the British burned it in 1812.)