ShmoopTube

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We speak student!

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Honesty

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a la Shmoop

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Lying. We can tell you we've never done it, [image of a sofa with paw prints all over it]

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but, well, then we'd be... Well, you know.

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It can be tempting to tell a little fib

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now and again.

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Whether you're trying to get out of unwanted social plans

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or you forgot something you were responsible for, [teacher talking to a student]

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or you want something done your way.

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Lying will always be there to help you.

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And if we can get all these cool benefits

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from stretching the truth a little, well, heck,

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why not lie all the time? [woman giving thumbs up to two men]

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Well, here's the thing.

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Lying can be risky business.

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Take us for example.

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We once made the bold claim that using Shmoop

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would give you better grades and the power of flight.

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And, well... [boy jumping from the roof top of a house]

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[ police siren ]

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Disclaimer done? Okay, great, moving on.

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Many of us lie to cover our own hides.

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Whether we really wanna win our tennis match

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so we call a ball out that was definitely in,

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or we desperately wanna be the valedictorian [woman playing tennis]

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so we cheat on math tests and claim the grades as our own,

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basically we lie to make ourselves look better.

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But what happens when the web we weave gets a little too tangled?

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What happens when our coach notices [image of a spider web wet with water]

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we're calling shots incorrectly and suspends us from the team?

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Or when our teacher sees our eyes

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wandering and gives us an automatic F?

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Not only do we lose any chance we have of succeeding,

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we're branded as dishonest.

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And being branded as something [two women talking to each other at the corridor]

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rarely makes life easy.

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Just ask our friend Hester.

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So even if we might lose most of our matches

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and we get straight Cs in math,

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at least we're doing it honestly. [boy holding his Math Report Card with C grade]

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And we heard somewhere that's the best policy.

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That's not to say you should tell the truth in every situation

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no matter what.

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If a buddy of yours is diagnosed with cancer

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and given a ten percent chance of survival,

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you probably won't tell them that

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odds are they're gonna die. [two friends visiting another friend at the hospital]

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Instead, you tell them they're strong and they're gonna live.

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Maybe it's not the truth,

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but if it boosts your buddy's spirits,

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there's a higher power here at work, right?

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If you're at a club and an aggressive guy demands

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your number, well, guess what? it's okay to give Meathead [man asking a woman for her number]

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a fake number. If your safety is at stake,

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it's okay to tell a lie.

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And heck, when this cute little face

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asks you if Santa Claus is real,

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are you gonna be the Grinch?

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Or are you gonna keep the magic alive just a little bit longer? Hmm? Hmm?

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And let's not forget about being honest with numero uno. [man with a tray of cookies and milk]

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Lying to yourself might help you deal with things you're afraid to face,

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but it'll also keep everything bottled up inside.

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If 8th grade science taught us anything,

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it's that things that are bottled up [someone throwing a bottle of soda on the floor]

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tend to go boom.

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And since we don't wanna see you go boom

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any time soon, be honest with yourself.

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Maybe you're realizing your religious [man looking at himself in the mirror and crying]

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or political views differ from those of your family.

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Maybe you don't wanna find a prince after all.

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No matter what you're keeping in,

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it'll feel a whole lot better once you let it out. [ fart noise ]

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Nice. Real mature.

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We can't tell you when to be honest and when to lie, [girl announcing the award for honesty]

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but as a general rule of thumb,

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if you're gonna pull a Kanye,

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probably keep it to yourself.

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If you're pulling a Rose and making Jack

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feel better about becoming a popsicle,

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well, go ahead and lie. [woman on a wooden plank floating on water]

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But seriously, there was room for both of them.

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Look at the door. Clearly they could've fit.

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[ clears throat ] Where were we?

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All right, right. Honesty. It's a pretty good policy.

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Check it out. It might make your life a happier one.

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Sorry, we're not having another flying Shmoop-er fiasco on our hands. [boy at the hospital with a plaster in his hand]

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[ groan ]

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