MORAL DILEMMA

So is lying cut and dry? I mean should you never lie? Is lying wrong period? Or is it that lying is relative, in that you could lie only when the situation demands it?

As is the case with a lot of us, our parents are the people who most influence the way we think and analyze situations. This is one of the subjects that i think i totally agree with my dad. We were sitting at a chinese restaurant in mumbai...when the topic of lying came up...and i asked my dad what he thought about it...i mean, i know that his moral belief's are very rigid so i figured that he would choose the high road and end the discussion by saying that lying is always wrong! But he suprised me, for the one time in my life i didn't know what my dad was going to say...he said, beta, you lie when you have to! I was like WHAT? DAD that's not you!

A little side note on my dad is that, he knows what he knows, he believes everything he believes very strongly...and that's that. You can try to put your point through but if dad has a certain way of thinking, you are not going to influence his way of thinking...morality, truth, and high standards of everything that is not material is what he lives for. But lately you can see the tranformation in the man...from a man who used to control everything...to a man who shows how much he cares about everything.

So back to my story, he said that the one thing that was more important than the absolute truth was people's feelings...so yeah...he said when you don't want to hurt someone you lie. The only problem with that is that it takes into account that the judgment of the person who is supposed to lie is assumed to be immaculate. And therein lies the dilemma...do you trust everybody else to know exactly the right circumstance in which they should lie? doesn't that vary from person to person? so there can't be a standard! so now there is no right or wrong either is there? it could be the right circumstance according to one and a totally wrong circumstance according to another! The question being HOW THE HELL DO YOU KNOW WHEN IS THE RIGHT TIME?

Here is a situation: you are getting ready to go out, and one of the girls you are going out with, be it your girlfriend, friend, mom, or sister asks you, "How do I look?" And the clothes she has on do not look that great. Whats your answer?