Lies, damn Lies and Statistics

Here is a mysterious story of a gradual 180 degree U-turn.
Honesty!
Right from birth the quest of many parents, including my own, and one of the main pillars of upbringing is to ensure little Johnny (and little Jane) are remaining on the upright path of respectability and honesty.
Honesty is being rewarded whereas lying is punished.
Lying – so it seems – leads to all sorts of hideous situations and causes untold damage to the one who lies and the one/ones being lied to.
The Bible (and several other religious equivalents) seems to back this up. So as a child the message slowly (or sometimes swiftly) sinks in:
Truth = Good . . . . Lies = Bad

Some things are however seemingly exempt from this rule:
First . . Father Christmas, the Tooth-Fairy . . then . . little white lies to ‘not hurt people’s feelings’ . . followed by lies, embellishments or omissions where the truth doesn’t really seem to matter too much . . and finally lies at work (in order to get promoted) and lies at home (in order to keep the peace).
Sometimes – and sometimes more often than not – it seems that the lies have won the upper hand.
Nowadays where nobody is ever guilty or responsible of anything and it is always someone else’s fault, there is just no lie – no lie at all – which cannot be logically explained, excused and defended.
The 180 degree U-turn from truth to lie is complete and seemingly without adverse effect. Right??!

Well, to really see the difference and to get the shock of your life, try this:
One day – maybe tomorrow? – tell the truth and nothing but the truth to everyone you meet – without colouring or sugaring it. Do this from the time you awake to the time you go to sleep.
Do it at home, on tour, at work and in the pub.
Easy?
The-Electronic-Firefly awaits your comments (and results) with anticipation!