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How do you feel about that...is there a right time to lie? What did you like best about this episode? 
~Margot~
Hi,
Margot, that's an interesting question. I believe it is always wrong to
lie. The Bible says it is wrong to lie, and I think that's always true.
I know sometimes it seems like lying would help things, but that doesn't
mean it's right. In "The Hiding Place," a true story about
Jews at the time of one of the WWs, Corrie Ten Boom was hiding some Jews
in her cellar, and the Germans were asking her where the Jews were. The
way I remember it, she told them they were under the table. (She had put
a table over the trap-door.) She chose to tell the truth. The Germans
thought she was joking, and didn't find the Jews. I think I'm telling
that correctly. In some situations, perhaps keeping silent altogether
would be the right thing.
I haven't
seen "The Christmas Angel" in years (I don't have it on tape),
but I do remember the scene of discussion. I, too, do not agree with
Jo's decision to lie. She could have easily told the truth and let Nick
handle it (he handled it a little too well later in the episode anyway).
Some may believe that violence is not the answer, but when a man is
beating his wife to a pulp (especially when she's pregnant), I think he
should at least get the stew knocked out of him once simply so he knows
how it feels (sorry about my "eye for an eye" tendencies to
any pacifists). An excellent question! It made me recall the chapter in LMA's book Little Men when Nat is punished for lying. The Bhaer's understood that Nat's habit of lying was born out of fear of his father who beat him, but they taught Nat (in a very special way) that lying in wrong. And in the chapter when Jack steals Tommy's money, Mr Bhaer is more grieved about the lie and the deceit than he is the actual theft. I am trying to remember if there were any times in Little Women when Jo or her sisters ever lied. Does anyone else remember? - Tabbycat
I don't agree with Jo's lying
either in this episode. I mean one of the points of the show was about
Jo trying to teach the children to do right and not lie (but she's doing
that herself). But I guess she didn't want to cause a scene. It would
have looked bad for the school. But I still don't agree with it. She
told Dan in Philanthropy not to lie to her about where Nick was. And
like you guys have already said, Nick lied about his brother in
"Brothers and Sisters" and Dan and Nat (following Nick's
influence) lied too. - Ambird This is one of my favorite episodes because we glad we finally started to learn more about Nick's past. Spencer did a terrific job. I especially liked the scene in the kitchen after he beat Thomas Ryan. I was a very emotional scene and Spencer expressed so much with his eyes. As far a Jo lying to Thomas Ryan I really didn't see anything wrong with it because she was trying to protect Sarah. I agree that we shouldn't lie but sometimes the circumstances force you to. I think we've all lied at one time or another. Haven't you ever told someone they looked nice , or you like their hair or even that you enjoyed a meal that someone prepared when you really didn't. They are all lies but we say them so that we don't hurt someone's feelings. Truthfully I was surprised to hear that you thought the beating was ok but the lie wasn't. People can get carried away by their rage and end up beating someone to death without intending to do so. I personally would prefer the lie to the beating. I think Thomas should have been punished for what he did but I don't think a beating was the answer. Dorothy I don't see anything wrong with
her lying to Thomas. I would lie to protect anyone who was being beat
like that. I don't know how anyone presented with that situation
wouldn't lie. I think Jo did the right thing.
Call me crazy, but I do think Nick
should of hit Thomas Ryan (he should not of wailed on him like he
actually did in the show, though). Sometimes the only way you can get a
person like that's attention is to hit 'em between the eyes with a
two-by-four (figuratively speaking, of course). The frame of mind of an
abuser is completely different from yours or mine, and I believe that
getting their attention must be done in different ways, too. Granted,
that doesn't mean you should knock the daylights out of them either.
They are human beings, too, and deserve to be treated as such. Tis true what DorothyL said about trying to spare friends or family's feelings. My sister brought a pumpkin pie to our Mother's to contribute to supper. She asked me what I thought of it, and I told her the truth...said it had a nice texture, but it was a bit bland. She was pretty upset with me. It seems most times that people really don't want the truth when it comes to their cooking, baking, how they look, etc...so, when we experience something like that, then we tend to not tell the whole truth. Remember in "Tough Choices" when Nat lied to protect the family from Jasper. It's a tough call---do we or don't we lie when we want to protect someone  I personally don't believe in lying, however, we are all sinners. If we believe in God's word, and if we believe we inherited sin from Adam & Eve, then we have that tendency to lie at times. I really try hard to get around it. If someone asks me if I like an outfit, and if I don't, I will say something truthful like, "That's an interesting style or I like the length on you or I like the color on you" without coming out and saying I truly don't like it. But, if I go shopping with a girlfriend and she tries something on that I truly feel doesn't do a thing for her, I will tell her the truth. I appreciate honesty when it comes to fashion. I feel many times in the storylines, they have the characters lie, because it extends the storyline. We may not lie in real life like the characters did in the episodes...but, what would we actually do when faced with some of the things that Jo & NIck & Nat experienced...would we lie? Would I lie if I wanted to protect my son...I can't truthfully answer it. I don't feel that I take advantage of my creator, in feeling that he will forgive me if I lie. I know God will forgive me if I feel really bad about lying. I try to put myself in situations where I don't feel the need to lie. Like I previously said, IT'S A TOUGH CALL FOR ANY OF US TO MAKE. My perspective anyway!
~Margot~
By the way, all of your comments
are excellent and I respect all of them.
~Margot~ weel, I agree that we all lied at least once in our life, and I agree that there are circumstances that should make one understand why someone lies...or at least try to, like protecting someone, his feeling or physically. Anyway, if Nick's beating TR didn't surprise me, I have to admit I was somehow surprised by Jo's lying, well, as someone said she tries to teach the children not to lie but she does, (but that could still be ok because of the circumstances) and the main point is that I don't think she was trying to avoid a scene, there are plenty of times when she says what she thinks plainly and if people disagree..too bad for them. I really thought she would tell TR what she thought about beating his wife and all! But maybe she was feeling too bad herself to feel strong enough to stand in front of TR... But still, it was a very interesting question! - jo scully |
