By Simon Wright – Follow
me on Twitter @Siwri88
Throughout
our time on this planet, we all will or have made a bad decision. This could
range from a dodgy choice of girlfriend and trusting someone you shouldn’t to
taking a risk that ultimately backfires. From my own experiences, being honest
is the best way forward.
There are
some creatures though who develop a habit and an unhealthy one at that too. It
might not be as damaging on a health scale if you compared it to smoking or
addictions to gambling, drinking and prescription drugs but it put bad stains
on characters.
Lying through
our teeth is often the easiest way out of a sticky situation. Once you have lied, it can be quite easy to repeat the trick because it causes less strain
in a relationship, friendship or professional aspect. What it means though is when the truth is revealed, the individual caught lying looks like as the
saying goes; ‘an English fool.’
Liars never
prosper and here are three examples – one from a TV show, one from the
political spectrum and a few experiences involving yours truly where honesty
should be and is the best way forward.
Broken promises
The broken
promise is a term used when in public, you make a promise to do something
radical, then go back on your plan and become a figure of hatred. In the world
of politics, the game of lying to try to win the minds and hearts of voters has
often been used. However, the difference between sly points and major policy
reform can have major implications on future careers, particularly in senior positions.
Yes you’ve probably guessed it, I’m talking about Nick Clegg.
Four years
ago, Mr Clegg was the ‘supposed’ brightest thing about British politics. Gordon
Brown was on his way out and David Cameron seen as the man in the middle. Clegg,
leader of the Liberal Democrats made some bold statements in the run-up to the
2010 General Election, outperforming his rivals frequently in the live
televised debates. Ultimately the Lib Dems didn’t do brilliantly as an overall
party, but Clegg’s influence persuaded Cameron to go into a coalition
government with him after no overall majority seized control.
Clegg (pictured below) appealed to the younger voter, especially as one of his main aims of his party's manifesto was for tuition fees at University to be abolished. First put in by
Labour under Tony Blair’s stewardship, University was becoming more and more
expensive. I was at Uni at the time, and Clegg’s desire to ditch this policy
was a major pulling power – perhaps not to change my life but because it would
encourage many generations afterwards to stick with higher education. After
all, we were often told that you were a no-hoper without a degree.
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| Nick Clegg's actions from 2010 have really hurt him recently |
Six months later,
Clegg went back on his promise and when a bill was pushed through the House of
Commons to increase tuition fees to £9000 a year which was a Conservative plan,
he went along with it. He lied through his teeth to his party, and the people
that marked an ‘x’ next to the Liberal Democrats months earlier. As a result, peaceful
demonstrations across London in November 2010 turned into something far more
violent. That action can’t be excused but you could also sympathise with the
anger youngsters felt towards Nick Clegg. He had kicked this group in an
unpleasant place and the fallout for him has been massive.
After an
overwhelming rejection of his AV vote plan a year later, the Lib Dems performed
so miserably in the recent Local and European election, it was kicked into
sixth place in many counties and districts across the country, falling behind
the likes of the BNP and the Green Party. As UKIP leader Nigel Farage
celebrated his success over a pint, Clegg was giving TV interviews looking
red-eyed and broken; as if a toy had just had its batteries removed easily. The
fight in him has gone. He will be around for another 12 months but it is
unlikely he will end 2015 anywhere near Westminster. A career in politics has
been ruined by lying to thousands of people. The moral in this is liars never
prosper. His lies have caught up with him now.
The bigamist
If you like
your secrets, your liars and your affairs, then soapland is the place to be.
The nation is often taken in by the regular dozes of what is offered in the
Yorkshire Dales, Walford and Chester. Some soap characters are loved to hate.
Others just never learn their lessons from previous big errors. One of these is
Coronation Street’s Peter Barlow, played by actor Chris Gascoyne.
Once upon a
time, his character was married to two people at the same time! The cake wasn’t
enough, so he needed some icing on top! 11 years later, Mr Barlow seemed
settled. He had controlled his alcohol addiction, was married to factory owner
Carla Connor (played by Alison King), devoted his child and owned 50 per cent
of the local knickers factory. Not bad going. Sadly for him as has often been
the case, temptation strayed him and led to lie after lie.
When he has
it all, Peter Barlow then does a really good job of messing it all up. He
started an affair with his child’s babysitter Tina (played by Michelle
Keegan), and couldn’t keep away. Oblivious to Carla, he kept coming up with
cheap excuses to get his second helping of satisfaction. Eventually, his lies
and deception led to him getting back on the booze and looking like a
fool once again.
The storyline
led to Carla finding out and vowing revenge on the pair. Before she could
though, Tina was killed in a recent dramatic exit. Now, Peter has lost it all.
His marriage is over, Carla miscarried with his child following the stress of
the revelation, his lover is dead, his son hates him and he is back on the
booze. Round of applause for the ultimate cock-up!
While it
might only been a TV programme, don’t be surprised to find similar kind of
problems up and down the land. Sometimes, the quiet life is okay but can get
boring for others and lead to these kind of things such as having sneaky
affairs and the development of dangerous addictions.
The moral to
this is; be thankful for what you have and count your blessings. Unfortunately
for Peter Barlow’s soap character, that wasn’t enough. The ex-bigamist simply
couldn’t keep his trousers on.
My experiences
At the end of
the day, have we all told a white, little lie once in a while? Probably we all
have. I know I did, especially in my young days – going all the way back to
primary school.
As I’ve grown
up, I have matured and understand far more about the consequences of lying. There
a difference in gravitation between lies. Small things such as making an excuse
up to not meet up are frustrating but can easily been forgiven. Much bigger
things when the lives of other people can be changed by your actions is a far
bigger deal.
At
University, I was taught by one of my colleagues to just be honest. If you think
someone has offended you, tell them face-to-face, not through social media or
text message. There isn’t any point in hiding away feelings, as it can often
cause far more damage.
I’ve been
accused of lying before and that isn’t nice. Being
honest won’t always get you what you want. A confession of love or assessments
of a social situation are examples but I do believe you become a better person
for these experiences. Lying makes things even worse and doesn’t make you a
great individual – one who certainly doesn’t deserve a lot of time and effort
for sure.
At the end of
the day, liars never prosper. It might be fun and thrilling at the time but the
web of deceit will ultimately catch up and have a much bigger bite. Those who
do it, perhaps think about the potential consequences before deciding the route
you go towards.
