Lying is done with words and also with silence.

I have recently adopted the above quote. Adrienne Rich has never said a truer set of words. It takes my breath away when I come across individuals that do not consider silence a form of deception. I recently ended a conversation with a 40 year old gentleman. I use the word gentleman ONLY for the purposes of this posting because calling him a lyin' Bastard would be to good...sorry I digress. This gentleman was perplexed as to why I kept calling him a liar. He wanted to know what exactly he had said that would classify him as a liar.

We went back and forth for several rounds and finally broke it down like this:
1. When you say something that isn't true. Lie.
2. When you say something that leads another to believe something that isn't true. Lie.
3. When you tell just enough of the truth to get by. Lie.
4. When you you tell half and leave off half. Lie.
5. When you say nothing at all. Lie.
6. When you tell yourself something that isn't true. Damned sad lie.

I finally let the 40 year old lyin' bastard...urr...I mean gentleman that numbers 1-5 all ooze deceit. The 40 year old got me when he asked if #6 wasn't deceitful as well (did I mention he was a sarcastic lyin' bastard?). I am still mulling that one over. Can one be deceitful with oneself?

The bottom line for me isn't the lie. It isn't what I find so offensive. It is the deception that is the most egregious.