Honestly, I have never come across anyone who can boldly says he or she is perfect, we all prove saint in each other's face but deep down we all know that we lie, some people will never admit that they lie. To me a lie is a lie, whether it is spoken directly, omitted or done deliberately. The difference may only be in how it is packaged, but the effect is still the same.
Not everyone tells direct lies. Some people prefer to keep quiet or tell a half-truth in as much you didn't ask directly which will make them to leave out some important details, and shaping the story to suit them. They let you imagine exactly what they want, without ever technically saying something false. On the surface, it feels lighter than lying. But in reality, omission can cut just as deep, if not deeper.
Two months ago my cousin sister came home crying, I was so eager to know what the problem was so I went to her room to ask what was wrong, she had been going out with this guy for months now and the relationship was on a serious level, she now found out that the guy already had a child and he didn't tell her.
The first question I asked her was did you asked him about his previous relationship? Did you ask if he has a child or not? She replied No but she said the guy should have tell her without asking, though I understand the guy because most women would never marry any guy who has a child especially when the mother of the child is present in his or her life.
One thing I like the guy about is that he didn’t deny it, he just never brought it up. What pained my cousin was that she found out after months of being serious with him, she had put in all her energy and promised to be serious with her life but when the truth came out, she felt betrayed, not because having a child was a bad thing, but because he had intentionally hidden it.
That’s the danger of omission. People who do it often feel like they are being “better” than liars. They say things like, “I didn’t lie, I just didn’t say everything.” But the result is the same, it broke trust and the person left in the dark feels cheated.
So, to the question of the day is omission as bad as an outright lie? From my experience, yes. Sometimes, it’s even worse because omission carries a kind of deception that is quiet and sneaky. At least with a bold lie, you know the person is lying but with omission it can take years to find out.
Honesty is not only about what we say but also about what we refuse to hide. If the truth is important, then leaving it out is just as harmful as twisting it. Omission plants false pictures in people’s minds, and those pictures break hearts when reality shows up.
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This is my response to this episode of Hivelearners community prompt of #hl-w183e01 which the topic is tagged THE LIE OF OMISSION