This happened a long time ago. The only reason it's on my mind is, it came up in a family discussion earlier.
Subject: Parents involving their children in an act of dishonesty. Especially when those same parents, catching those same children in a lie, would not hesitate to wear the daylights out of them with a belt.
State fair. My brother had recently turned 13. My mother tells the lady at the ticket booth he's 12. Of course, 12 and under paid a lower price for entry, but I didn't make that connection at the time. I didn't realize she was trying to be slick and save a little bit of money. I honestly thought, his birthday was recent enough, maybe Mom forgot he's 13 now. So, I said it. Out loud.
The ticket booth lady let him on through at the 12-and-under price. It could be that she didn't hear me. Or it could be that she heard me loud and clear, and she knew very well what I would catch if she made my mother pay full price for him, and she wanted to spare me such a fate. If that's the case, I'm grateful. If she didn't hear me, that was probably just as well for me too.
There was an expression going around during WWII, "Loose lips sink ships." The context was that an enemy spy could be overhearing, so be careful what you say. The adults in my family co-opted that phrase and put it in the context of, "I'm trying to pull a fast one here, and I don't want you blowing it for me, so keep your yap shut or you're in big trouble." As it is, I still caught a fair amount of dirty looks and grumbling, once we were away from the ticket booth, because I had opened my "big mouth," and "almost ruined everything."
Of course, the example came up in the discussion of hiding the Jews from the Nazis. "Do you have any Jews hiding in your house?"--"No, sir!" Well, I am entirely incapable of looking someone in the eye and saying something I know not to be true. Not that I'm holier-than-thou and I've never tried; I simply can't do it. I'm not even good at poker, or any other game involving strategy, because I just can't bluff. I *will* give myself away, however unintentially. So, for me, honesty really is the best policy. That means I probably shouldn't create a situation in which I would need to cover up something, such as hiding Jews from Nazis. The Jews would likely be better off if I don't involve myself, so that I can't give it away. (I am occasionally accused of lying, possibly because so many other people in those circumstances would lie, and that hurts me a lot. I may even take steps to document and prove what I'm saying is true. Only to be told I'm being unnecessarily defensive.)
That's not the only time I was ever the bad guy for speaking the truth. "Tell the bill collector on the phone I'm not home," was another common setup. I got ROYALLY chewed out for putting a bill collector on hold, "Just a minute please," and telling my mother it's a utility company asking for her. She looked angry and shook her head. I came back to the phone and said she's not home. After the call ended, she blew all the way up at me. In slightly different words, she said, "What a fool you made of me! You weren't discreet enough! They're gonna KNOW I was home!" I was every bit of 11 years old at the time. Supposed to be crafty and wise in the ways of the world at that age, wasn't I?
Repeat, this is the same mother who wouldn't have hesitated to let me have it with a belt if I ever lied to HER about anything.
Experience with similar situations in my young years tells me that if my mother's state fair ruse had failed, if she had ended up paying the full entry price for my brother, I would have been punished. Most likely everyone would get a soft drink, or ice cream cone, or some other treat, except me. Reason being, because I opened my mouth, now there's not enough extra money to get me one too. Maybe that'll teach me a lesson for next time.
Assuming rigorous honesty is a Christian value, or even a secular moral value, what should each person in this situation do? As the child, should you open your mouth and tell the truth, even if it exposes that your parent is lying? As the parent, is it right to expect your child to lie FOR you, especially if you would severely punish that child for lying TO you? As the ticket booth operator, would you let the 13-year-old on through at the 12-year-old price to save his sister from getting clobbered?
What are your thoughts?
