Truth is a small word but how many of us really "value" it in today's world? When I was a kid, we were taught that it was not okay to tell lies or deceive people. The value of telling the truth was drilled into us in most of our lessons, be it about Mahatma Gandhi or reading various story books that had the same moral in it in many different ways. The Enid Blyton books were filled with such stories, and she was one of my favorite authors at that time and age. I still love reading them.

The effect of all this education has made an honest person out of me. Too Honest! I found that I just couldn't tell a lie without being caught, as guilt would be clearly written all over my face. But, as the growing up process teaches us lots of things in life, I soon learned or should I say "Unlearned" that it was "okay" to tell lies, at times. In fact, it becomes almost necessary to lie or deceive sometimes as certain situations demand it of us.

One needs to only look and observe the people and society, including the world at large to realize that "truth" seems to have become an outdated term. If you look carefully at your own family, you will soon realize that there are so many things that are just superficial or "not exactly the truth". The world survives on lies and deception. Marketing any product is done through a series of lies that are essential in order to sell the product to people. False promises by politicians has become the need of the hour to gain votes. The newspapers are filled with only half-truths. They will let you know only what they THINK, you should know.

With the advent of the computer age, it has now become mandatory to lie. Most people register online in various websites with false identities. We are being pushed towards telling lies. Nobody knows the truth anymore. Does the truth even exist in today's world?

Seeing all the changes that are happening all around the world and with technology that is pushing humans further away from "reality", it is only natural that we will soon be living in a world of delusions or deceptions and soon a day may come, I fear, when we may not be able to distinguish between "Reality" and "Deception". In fact, "Deception" will become the "Reality" of tomorrow.

Therefore, I think, It is okay to tell lies!