This post is NOT about sports but using a current sport situation to ask questions about lying, character and what this means.
Through all the posturing, positioning and punditry, I keep asking myself why is lying wrong. I mean to some people it is, but why?
If lying is only an option and not THE right way to do things, we have a problem. Truth is central to life.... or is it? Is truth foundational, relative or variable?
Below is an except from an interview i did with Rawd B Jones.
Rawd: Is lying wrong?
RB Jones: Inherently it is. Without truth as a base, there cannot be trust. If there is no trust in relationships, speech or character, everything becomes relative and will end up being contractual. At the end of the day life becomes litigious. It becomes about documenting and proof instead of trust. Everyone becomes a lawyer. The burden of proof replaces the warmness of relationship.
Rawd: Why should Tom or Bill or anyone caught not lie?
RB Jones: Without being a Christ follower or even a moral value basis, truth could be determined a strategy, but so is deceit. If truth is not a value a virtue or something to aspire there is no value in it. If Tom or Bill or the ball boy will get a fine or reprimand if they lie and get caught and that is the same recourse as admitting guilt (IF there is, i'm not assuming, just making a point) then why tell the truth at all? Why not just roll the dice, lie and hope you don't get caught. If the truth hurts, avoid it.
Rawd: Is truth central to life?
RB Jones: Yes.
Rawd: What does this mean 5 years from now?
RB Jones: To Deflate gate, maybe nothing. One cant go back in the past and change things. I am glad that the Patriots beat the Colts by a sizeable score or I would be asking myself how much history 11 underinflated footballs really change. In football probably not much since we are looking for evidence to hopefully point to the truth. We are not looking for Truth, character and integrity, so we probably wont find at least 2 or those 3. I think the real impact will be those who are following this story and see truth be weakened lessened and used as a device, a means to an end. People may do this consciously or unconsciously as the court of public opinion casts its verdict on people and character. If there is not penalty for lying, but only what we can prove, something is missing. If the truth is made less than proof, what is really important, foundational and valuable? What is the future of sports? What is the future of branding? What is the future of Character, integrity and values? What is the future of the truth?
