Lie Detection Made Easy—Jennifer Garner Confesses Her Real Alias: Compulsive Liar…
I haven’t seen The Invention of Lying yet, but the internet hype has been hard to miss: The admissions of co-star Jennifer Garner regarding her own use of deception.
Her comments have been recounted across countless blogs and news cites, with all the pieces I’ve seen titled, “Jennifer Garner is a Compulsive Liar”.
Why the rough label? Well, she confessed… that she lies.
So 2 points come to mind:
1-Well, she’s actually not a compulsive liar, just an ordinary one, and the use of this label underscores that when it comes to lying and deception, misconceptions abound.
Compulsive liars tell lies when there’s no need to, and Garner explains that she lies for the sake of, well… practicality, you could say. (Lots of folks just find it simpler to lie, than tell the truth—initially, anyway.)
and,
2-The articles are written as if Garner is an anomaly; truth is, everyone lies. So this revelation about her is no more revealing than if she’d admitted nose-picking (the other thing that everyone does, but no one admits to).
The interesting part of all this really isn’t that she tells lies, but that she openly acknowledges it. That’s something you just don’t hear of. And what’s the prize for this unrivaled display of blatant honesty? She gets the label of being a compulsive liar.
Has everyone told a lie? Yes.
Will they do it again? Sure.
So who would you consider more trustworthy: The person who lies and refuses to acknowledge it, or the person who owns up?
Comment with your thoughts…
-jef
If you lie and don’t admit it,you are deceiving. If you lie and
own up- Others condem you. Can you win?!
Two ways to win: 1-don’t be deceptive (few people), or 2-be good at it (most).
The average person doesn’t consider that Everyone has lied… or maybe they’re in denial. Either way, anyone who admits lying is typically in deeper trouble with their confession.
Another post coming soon that dovetails… admitting to lying seldom brings honor.
Thanks J.
-jef
I would put my trust in the person who owns up.
Would you really? The ‘own up’ can be risky for the person too, because none of us like to be deceived… can be a real backlash there. Ask Jennifer.
Thanks J!
more thoughts… i know when a person is lying, when he or she wants to be honest, and yet, won’t come out clean, and that’s okay. I don’t take it personally. It’s harder for the person who won’t own up, because anything hidden, is excess baggage. it can take its toll on one’s health, or worse
something will eventually give, especially if it’s a big lie
.. however, if i don’t know that i am being deceived and then i eventually find out that i have been betrayed, well, that’s another story! Recovery from betrayal is a long road, some people don’t recover… when people are ‘found out’ they eventually will correct their wrong doing, or move on
just rambling!
jef are you saying that if one makes a decision to lie then he or she should be good at it? that’s a bad thing, little lies can turn into big lies and can make a bad person like Ferdinand Marcos
Most people are good at lying. And the ones who aren’t so good are helped by the
fact that most folks are NOT good at spotting truth/deception.
No, I’m not advocating lying, but just being totally objective, yes, if a person is going
to do it they’d better get the job done right… or face some of the consequences you’ve
mentioned.
Thanks Jeannie!