by Joseph Whalen

Created on: January 04, 2008

Deception is a necessary practice in today's society. Often associated with deceitful or negative practices there are more than enough instances in which it is considered an acceptable activity. The recent holiday season makes a perfect case in point. How many children believe in Santa Clause?

While probably the most obvious and widespread deception, the belief in Santa Clause has nothing to do with negative or evil intentions. It's something to fuel our children's imaginations and hope. It's a way of expressing the complex ideas associated with the holiday season to our children in a simple and easy to understand language.

Grant it there are clearly plenty of examples of negative use of deception. One only needs to look at our government to see a plethora of examples starting from the top and working its way down to our local elected representatives. Even in these cases, most of those who are doing the deceiving often believe they are doing it for the right reasons.

One can not look at the term deception and condemn or praise it. The merits of the actions associated with the deception must be analyzed for their morale content. As with any persons actions, you must understand the intent and end goal of those actions before you can pass judgment on whether those actions are justified and acceptable.

Individuals often deceive themselves for good and bad reasons. A woman who looks in the mirror and does not like the image that is reflected back is quick to cover her face with make up so that she feels better about her appearance. This is no less a deception than anything else. It is a deception that allows her to accept herself for who she is and get on with her day. Deception is neither good nor bad, therefore it is impossible to say unilaterally whether it can be forgivable. We must always look deeper.

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