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Description:

Under what circumstances should people be allowed to lie? Is Annemarie's situation dire enough? Shmoop amongst yourselves.

Language:
English Language

Transcript

00:07

Number the Stars, a la Shmoop. From the minute we’re born . . .

00:16

. . . we’re hounded about telling the truth. We’re told that “honesty is the best policy”

00:22

. . . . . . and that “the truth will set us free”.

00:25

Sounds good . . . . . . but is there ever a time when lying

00:28

is okay? In Number the Stars, our heroine Annemarie

00:33

doesn’t always tell the truth. But, c’mon, cut her some slack.

00:38

Annemarie was dealing with matters of life or death.

00:43

So is that it? Should you be given a green light to lie if you have a really, really

00:48

good reason? Or is it more important to tell the truth,

00:52

no matter what? Well, some people would say that honesty is

00:55

non-negotiable . . . . . . that trying to justify a lie for any

01:00

reason opens up a complicated can of worms. As Mark Twain said, “If you tell the truth,

01:07

you don’t have anything to remember.” Others would say that telling a fib once in

01:11

a while is totally acceptable . . . . . . especially when it avoids hurt feelings

01:17

. . . . . . or gets you out of a jam.

01:21

Then there are the guys who think it’s okay to lie wherever and whenever you please . . .

01:25

. . . the compulsive liars who wouldn’t know the truth if it bit them in the . . . well,

01:31

you know. So whom should you believe?

01:35

We have to admit, it’s a tough one. If our leaders lie . . .

01:39

. . . and our heroes lie . . . . . . doesn’t that give us the go-ahead

01:45

to bend the truth, too? Not necessarily.

01:48

So, how do you know if or when it’s okay to fudge the facts?

01:54

Since most of us will never have to face anything close to what Annemarie experienced . . .

01:57

. . . our choices should be easier. We can value the truth above all else . . .

02:03

. . . or come to the conclusion that honesty is highly over-rated.

02:09

But we might have to take it case by case… and take our cues from this guy.

02:13

Shmoop amongst yourselves.

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