Today is April Fools' Day, another useless celebration human beings have come up with, perhaps out of sheer boredom.
Growing up, we were always taught that lying is evil. Our parents read us stories like Pinocchio and The Boy Who Cried Wolf to show us the bad karma involved with telling lies. We listened intently, believing them whole-heartedly that we would be doomed if we lied.
The biggest irony of all is it's usually our parents who lie to us.
OK, so their lies might not be horrible ones, but when we're little and don't know any better, we instantly believe them. Such lies lead to confusion later on in life. It can be the standard lies like that of Santa Claus and the Tooth Fairy, or more personalised ones like how babies are made -- the answers range from "You came out of a bamboo tree" to "I picked you up from a dumpster". No parent really tells their three-year-old, "Oh, yeah, your father and I had sex. Many times."
There are also silly threats. When children throw tantrums, many parents threaten, saying if they don't stop, something bad will happen. Common threats here in Thailand are "The police will arrest you", "Geckos will come and eat your liver", or "I will send you to boarding school right now".
There was a Pantip post about the strange lies we were told by our parents as children. Here are my top contenders.
- If you don't finish your food, you will get acne when you grow up.
- If you pick your belly button too much, your insides might come out.
- Do not swallow fruit seeds or plants will grow in your tummy.
- You will become a snake if you eat lying down.
And they expect us to be honest? How is that fair?
I know parenting is tricky and sometimes reasoning with a toddler is out of the question. That's why many parents resort to creative lies to convince their children to stop whatever naughty thing they are doing. I know I've been guilty of lying to my kid -- sometimes I tell him his favourite toy shop is out of business because I don't want to take him there. I also lie to my parents -- when I shop online and the stuff is sent to our home, I tell them it's a gift from a friend.
I suppose, in a way, lying is a primal instinct, a way of surviving this difficult world. If your girlfriend asks you if she looks fat, you instantly say no, because telling her otherwise could result in serious trouble.
I believe in white lies. Sometimes telling a lie is better than being completely honest. But where do you draw the line between the white lies and grey or black ones? I think it's a very subjective matter. I, for one, wouldn't want those around me to be brutally honest. A little sugar-coating never hurts anyone.
Being polite usually requires lying. We always say meaningless things -- "Nice to meet you", even though we think that person is a jerk; "I'm fine, thank you", when we're about to explode from stress; "You're welcome", when we expect a person to show eternal gratitude for our good deed, etc.
So, who needs April's Fools' Day when we're already lying every single day?