Lying hurts.  It hurts us as individuals and it hurts us as communities; it hurts us as a country and even as a species.  There are many lies that are accepted and in doing so we are accepting pain and anti-progress.  We become numb to it, but not immune to it.

Lying is killing us.  It is killing us as just as cancer kills its host; just as a gun kills its victim.  Lying kills by a million cuts and with atom bomb generality.  Death is natural; murder is not.  Lies only grow in fertile ground; death grows in desert plains.

Lying is easy.  Lying is easy for individuals and communities; it is easy for governments.  Lying pays off and it works.  Lying provides comfort and security or the feeling of superiority and the power of revenge.  All of it is false just as an untrue statement; just as an untrue belief.

We can say:

“Don’t lie to anyone for any reason.”  But, we will.

Perhaps we should revise the statement to align with Kant’s proposition:

“Don’t lie, but if you do know that it is never justified.”