Lying

I thought about lying recently. A man just recently confessed to killing his wife and two daughters. He had been interviewed before confessing and talked about how much he wanted his missing wife and children back. Now I've heard people say that the worst part of this is when he stared right into the camera and talked about getting his wife back when he knew good and well she wasn't because he had killed her. I understand that to a degree, but no. The worst part of this is not the lying part. I think it was the murdering part. That is probably the worst.

But I get it. People were upset with OJ after he was found not guilty because he kept talking about dedicating his life to searching for his wife's killer. OK, you can be a little upset about that, but again, the double homicide part is probably the worst of his sins.

My boy Pete Rose didn't admit right away that he had bet on baseball and people said that was worse than the betting in the first place.

In all of those cases I think I would have lied. I'm no fan of lying. I don't think I've told a real lie for a decade or two. If you count, "How are you today?" "I'm fine." Then, yes I lie all the time. But I'm not counting those.

Why wouldn't those above killers lie? You're far enough down the moral ladder that you kill people. Are you suddenly going to have qualms about telling a lie? Pete Rose had bet on baseball. He had been accused by low-life gamblers. He had to be thinking, "If I lie, I probably get out of this" vs "If I decide to get moral all of a sudden (not Pete's strong suit) I'll be kicked out of baseball." I virtually never lie, but I think I would have lied there. Two wrongs don't make a right, but it can be to your advantage.

Betting on baseball + A successful lie about it = Getting you keep your manager's job

But in the case of OJ - You're not fooling anybody. It's been about twenty years. How's the hunt for the killer going? I have a feeling you've found him.

Apparently lies are OK if its in a large enough volume. The current president just makes stuff up on a daily basis. It isn't even news anymore. My buddy Dick Nixon covers up a burglary he didn't even commit and he's out looking for a new job.

I saw a cool thing on Good Morning America. John Dickerson, who I really like, was talking about virtue. (https://www.cbsnews.com/news/john-dickerson-test-of-character-public-servants/). He talked about the "Sue Johnson test". There is a video of her in a huge rain storm in a Wal-Mart parking lot, taking the time to return a shopping cart. Pete, OJ, and that other guy - If you are more virtuous to begin, won't even have the temptation to like. I'm guessing that if Sue Johnson ever does bet on baseball, she'll fess up right away.