184 November 2013 www.bahrainthismonth.com lastword But it is the quote of Dorothy Allison that I read recently which struck a cord, a fear that made me contemplate the modern disregard to telling lies, “Things come apart so easily when they have been held together with lies.” Around the same time I also read a news article which stated that Vietnam has 20 million cellular phones, two for every living person in the country. Considering the very young, the very old and the infirm were unlikely to use one, that means for some at least many more than a single handset. I have met people here, on our own tiny island, who have three or four mobile phones each. One has to wonder why there are so many numbers for so few people. I still think one phone with one number is a financial burden. I do understand one phone for work and one phone for play, but what’s the third and fourth for if it is not simply to hide the existence of other numbers? When phones were attached to walls, children had no use for one. When phones were hard-wired into our homes and businesses, you could trust that whoever picked up the phone at the other end was legitimate, or had a reason for being there. Today we tell ourselves that we must give a phone to our children for their own safety. Yet I survived school and my early adolescence without a phone. Back then the onus was on the parent to collect the children on time. Trust was there for both sides. Today our irresponsibility has given children phones and thrust them into the world of texting and ‘sexting’ from way too early an age. And one has to consider the potential for lying; if not to others, certainly to us about who they call and what they text, or in fact where they are? Hard-wired phones had to be picked up at the point of origin, while a cell phone is truly mobile and can be called and answered from anywhere. How do we know that our children are in fact where they say they are? How does anyone know we are from where we say we are calling? Dorothy Allison’s quote that ‘things so easily fall apart’ may well refer to civilisation itself. Do we not need to curb the current ease with which we lie about so much to so many? The truth can hurt and be inconvenient but I believe the truth is something we must all strive to live and fulfil, especially with our children. The truth may not always be nice to hear and it may not always make us popular, but in the words of George Orwell, that I would prefer to be on my tombstone, “In a time of deceit, telling the truth is a revolutionary act.” I prefer to be the revolutionary! Lies and liars have always been a part of our social fabric. I’m sure even Stone Age man lied about the size of the mammoth that got away. These days, though, lying seems to be coming at us from every direction. Intended or unintended, our digital age seems to be making life easier for those who frequently to tell anything but the truth. My parents always instructed us to tell the truth and shame the devil. It meant little to me back then. White lies about ‘dogs eating homework’ hurt only me; so, what was the harm? As I aged I found lies in every part of society — our news forums, governments, clergy, sports and more; it frustrated me that liars got away with so much. I strove and still do to tell the truth even if it hurt those around me. The truth can be inconvenient, the truth really can hurt and, despite years of denial, I have to admit that the truth does not set you free. Edward Snowden is proof of that. So, what of modern society and this digital conundrum we seem to be in? The Internet is filled with liars. Just because a Facebook, LinkedIn, Friendster, Craigslist or blog has a name and a photo does not mean that the face and name relate to the person making the posts. Much today is known about stalkers, predators and those who inflict harm through modern social media to old and young alike. JAMES CLAIRE “I'm not upset that you lied to me, I'm upset that from now on I can't believe you.” - Friedrich Nietzsche Liar, Liar!!!!
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