Thou Shall Not Lie. But If You Do, These Guys Have Your Back
April 25th, 2007 | by Ken Grandlund |Okay, the actual biblical commandment is “Thou shall not bear false witness” but most interpretations of this particular commandment include a prohibition on lying and deception.
Yet we all lie at one time or another. Even those in the majority who consider themselves to be ‘good Christian folks.’ And frankly, in this age of constant spin, whether political or personal, many have decided that lying is really just a subjective thing with no real consequences to the liar and no real concern for those who have been lied to. Our politicians are the ultimate masters of this craft, but from schoolrooms to boardrooms, lying has become as much a part of the American experience as, well, baseball and apple pie. So I guess it should be no big surprise to find that someone figured out a way to make money by helping other people lie, and lie convincingly.
Enter The Alibi Network. From their website:
“Politicians have spin doctors,
celebrities have publicists, corporations
have lawyers and public relations departments, investment banks have analysts, now regular people have ALIBI NETWORK. “
These folks say business is booming and their website offers a whole range of services, from helping cover up an affair to providing you with a fake job to making ‘rescue” calls to you when you are on a date. And that’s just the tip of the iceberg.
These guys aren’t alone either. They have competitors.
My question is this- have we reached the point that lying and deception are now so much the norm that we have an industry being developed to support liars?
I’m not a religious person, but I can readily see the wisdom laid out for societies within some of the 10 commandments. Thou shall not steal, thou shall not kill- both good, easy tenets to live by. Thou shall not lie? Good to strive for. Easy to slip up occassionally. But paying others to lie for you? Surely to all you who are religious, this must go too far, no?
[tag]lying, religion, Privacy+Agency, Alibi+network, society, human+behavior[/tag]
9 Responses to “Thou Shall Not Lie. But If You Do, These Guys Have Your Back”
By Jet Netwal on Apr 25, 2007 | Reply
Good Lord. From their site:
“Pretend You Are Anywhere
We can send email from anywhere in the world from your own email account, backed up with your own international phone number of the hotel, friend or anybody else.”
Shhhhh! Don’t tell Rove or the RNC!
By Paul Merda on Apr 25, 2007 | Reply
I only wish I’d thought of it first…
By tos on Apr 25, 2007 | Reply
I saw this on TV the other night. Unbelievable.
Ken-Way to work in the “Christian” thing and the commandments.It goes too far religious or not as far as I’m concerned.
By ken grandlund on Apr 25, 2007 | Reply
Tos- It’s not that I think religion is to blame for everything, I’m just not a big fan of hypocrisy, and with so many in this country professing to be religious and then to see the actions and deeds not match that dogma makes me wonder…how religious are people really? Is it just a convenient cover for bad behavior or an actual belief that just can’t be lived up to?
And I think this does go too far. Sure people can lie and cheat and make their own excuses, but to create a business plan and make money off this behavior is beyond the pale for me. And indicitive of where we are going or where we have ended up…
By tos on Apr 25, 2007 | Reply
I hear you Ken but it still had nothing to do with the original post. We would have gotten the picture whether you threw religion in there or not. I personally am not religious but I know many people who are do-gooders in the name of religion. I know there are extremes in religion like people who shoot abortion doctors or ones that fly planes into buildings. Do we use them as examples to what their religions represent or do we just call them what they are-”lunatics”?
By ken grandlund on Apr 25, 2007 | Reply
” I know there are extremes in religion like people who shoot abortion doctors or ones that fly planes into buildings. Do we use them as examples to what their religions represent or do we just call them what they are-”lunatics”? ”
Well, many neo-cons (and others too) DO use the militant Islamic terrorists as an example what Islam represents. And that is wrong isn’t it?
In this post, I decided that businesses like these that crop up in a nation that describes itself as Christian- and fully a third of those who call themselves (protestant) Christian also describe themselves as fundamentalist (or literalists) meaning the say they believe in biblical infallibility- highlight the hypocrisy of a culture who professes to be religious. If we were a society that by and large did not describe ourselves as religious and did not pretend to live by those tenets, including the “Thou shall not bear false witness (lie) then this really would be a non-issue. hence, the religion connection.
By tos on Apr 25, 2007 | Reply
That’s freedom for you! No?
By ken grandlund on Apr 25, 2007 | Reply
Of course it is, and I’m making no comment on whether people should lie or should not lie- that is their choice. Similarly, I am not saying that these businesses do not have a right to exist. I am merely making a commentary on our culture that gives rise to a business like this and what that may or may not say about us.
By tos on Apr 25, 2007 | Reply
“I am merely making a commentary on our culture that gives rise to a business like this and what that may or may not say about us. ”
Point taken. It sure doesn’t say much good about about our culture, but how did we end up with such a culture? I won’t blame religion on what our culture has become.There are many factors that have made it what it is and yes that website is one of them,one of the many reasons.We have come to accept almost anything. We are just so numb to so many things.
We have kids having sex younger and younger. We have teachers having sex with their students. We are a culture of violence(graphic violence) and sex that is out there for everyone to see. When we were growing up my parents didn’t have to tell us about birth control when we were 13 or 14 because that was the furthest thing from our minds.When I was in high school I couldn’t even fathom oral sex now you have 13 and 14 year olds experienced at it or at least having done it.
And girls thinking it’s acceptable to do it for a guy?
You have people having extra marital affairs
all in the name of instant gratification.
So that is our culture or at least part of it.