On Truth and Lies

There's a scene in the movie Spy Game (a pretty good movie, by the way), that serves as a reminder not just about value of honesty but also of its practicality.

It occurs during the flashback sequence where Robert Redford's Nathan Muir has begun training Brad Pitt's Tom Bishop as a spy. The two of them sit at a bench nearby an attractive young lady, and Muir instructs Bishop to "Solicit information from someone." "Gladly," Bishop replies, heading off in the direction of the woman.

When Bishop returns after flirting with the woman, he learns a valuable lesson in espionage from Muir:

Muir: You just gave her four pieces of information for one dubious impersonal fact.

Bishop: I just wanted to know where she got that dress.

Muir:: What did you tell her? One, you're straight; two, your engaged; three tomorrow's your girl's birthday; and four, you have no taste in women's fashion."

What if she were an asset? You told her four lies that now have to be true.

This scene never fails to strike a chord with me because I often find that the "little white lie" has become so ingrained in modern culture as to become not just normal, but almost expected. We seem to have no qualms telling people that "We're nearly there" when in truth we haven't even left for that appointment, or that some task is "almost done" even if we haven't started. And how many times have any of us made up some excuse or another for not making it to a function or engagement, just because, really, we don't want to go?

I'll admit: it's easy simply to fudge and dissemble, especially when the alternative is to run the risk of offending someone with the truth over a very small matter. Maybe in such instances the "little white lie" is at best permissible. Yet at some point it becomes hard to keep track of what the real score is, and even if one's small lies do not escalate into bigger and bolder falsehoods, even the smallest lie can have an irreparable impact on one's credibility once the truth comes to light.

Which brings me back to the movie. Muir is right: at some point all lies have to be true. Not even the best liar can make that happen.