The Parakeet

My son Steve, then 5 years old, had spent the night with his Grandmother in Washington Heights. I was taking the two of them to my house in Westchester, when I heard Steve ask his Grandmother what had happened to her neighbor's parakeet. She went into a long-winded explanation that the bird was on vacation and would probably return in a few weeks. Steve was not happy about this, so his Grandmother just kept making the story more complicated. Steve continued to be confused. After a while, I intervened, saying, "Steve, what your Grandmother is trying to tell you is that the parakeet is dead." He replied, "Okay," and moved on to another subject.

As a parent, I have always been concerned about telling my kids the truth. I did lie about the Tooth Fairy, and Santa Klaus, but that was considered to be acceptable. I wondered then, as I do now, how children can differentiate between the small lies you tell them and the truth?

When I began working for a Television company, I was introduced to what I would call "serious lying." In the early 70's, I worked for a man who hardly ever told the truth when a lie would suffice. At one point, after he had told me a particularly egregious lie, I lost my "cool" and told him, "I just know that lying is so ingrained in you, that you don't even know when you are doing it."

The lying that I experienced in my career was to a greater or lesser extent about money. Although no one was ever physically harmed if a studio cheated a producer or participant out of some money.

The distorted assertions made by our Administration about the facts leading up to the War in Iraq, or "Links" to "anything" are very disturbing, When I listen to the explanations made by supporters of the administration I think about the parakeet, and my mother in laws attempt to keep the truth from her grandson. How can I discern the truth about other statements and allegations made by the administration? The CIA, was so wrong about so many things, what about the other allegations that they have made? Did Sadaam "murder" 500,00 of his own people? Did he give rewards to the families of Palestinian suicide bombers? We need a "media that challenges, and does not just report what they are told" It is not easy, but it is what I would expect them to do.

I continue to tell my kids the truth, At times I think that a "white lie" would be easier, but I resist the temptation. And by the way, the parakeet continues to be on vacation.

Norman Horowitz

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