Read Between the Lies By Antonio Calipjo Go, Forum Contributor Man’s insidious and malevolent propensity to lie is as old as time itself, beginning right at the very beginning, when the earth was still in the earliest cooling stages of its Creation. The ancestor of all liars is undoubtedly Cain, who lied to God Himself and feigned innocence when he was asked as to the whereabouts of his brother Abel, whom he had just then slain, retorting with that now infamous quote of his: “I do not know! Am I my brother’s keeper?”
Simon Peter, a disciple of Jesus, lied about his connection and relationship to his Master by denying, when he was challenged, that he knew Him, not once, not twice, but three times.
The Denial of Saint Peter, oil-on-canvas painting by Gerard Seghers, circa1620–25,
now held by the North Carolina Museum of Art (Google Image collection)
“Doubt, a Parable” won for the playwright John Patrick Shanley the coveted 2005 Pulitzer Prize for Drama. One of the main characters of the play, Father Brendan Flynn, delivers on one particular Sunday a sermon on the subject of gossip, narrating the story of a woman gutting a pillow on the rooftop of her house and letting the feathers fly every which way. He says that stopping gossip is like stuffing all the loose feathers back into the pillowcase, something that’s no longer possible to do. He ends his homily by admonishing his congregation to shun the practice of gossiping precisely because bearing false witness against neighbors ruins and destroys reputations and is therefore a sin. The slanderer differs from the assassin only in that he murders the reputation instead of the body.
Aren’t you amazed by the fact that the human tongue, just about four inches short and weighing much much less than Shylock’s pound of flesh, can kill a man six feet tall?
These are the many peoples of the lie--gossipmongers, talebearers, tattletales, yentas, maritesses and marisols, trolls--all, all of these repugnant and despicable scum coming out of the gutters in full force and overflowing confidence in this Age of Deep Fakes. They live among us, proliferating and spreading like airborne virus and free-floating pathogen.
Truth hurts, but it’s the lie that leaves indelible scars and pockmarks for keeps and for life. Chances are, at least twice in your life--once, if you’re lucky--town gossip will eventually catch up with you, no matter if you’ve just been a bit naughty or a lot nicer. If and when that happens, don't despair. A lie is still a lie, even if everyone believes it. The truth is still the truth, even if no one believes it. Always be mindful and watchful. Learn to read between the lies. Know that by following the long circuitous and convoluted trail of lies you will eventually arrive at the truth.
Lastly, be sure to heed the injunction of the Ninth Commandment--not to bear false witness against your neighbor. This is the truth that lies beneath every lie we let fly out. When you spit onto the wind, the wind will blow some of the spray back to you as a consequence of your wrongful and reckless act, your windblown feathers, your sin and your damnation.
