Catch Me If You Can

Heather and I saw “Catch Me If You Can” yesterday. I really enjoyed it. A fun ride. To me the most important line in the movie was, “Sometimes it’s easier to believe the lie” (or something like that). When you think about the movie through the lens of that line, almost everyone in movie is an illustration of the point it makes. The dad, the son, Tom Hanks, Martin Sheen. This movie was full of folks who prefer a pleasant fiction over an uncomfortable truth. As such, it shines a light on the deceptive nature of our world and our willingness to buy the lie. Most of us want to believe the lies we are told on a daily basis. Most of us tell ourselves lies on a daily basis and eventually come to believe them. Why? Because sometimes reality sucks. The truth hurts. Lies makes us feel better.

People get divorced. Parent hurt their kids. The strong steal from the weak.

This is the world in which we live. Sometimes the best we can do is divert our attention with a lie.

So we tell ourselves we are better off than we really are. We rationalize our faults and minimize the sins of those we love. Eventually, we come to believe that things are not that bad after all.

Why? Because we want to.

Then we start telling others that things are better than they really are. We cook the books and exaggerate our earnings. To our amazement, they believe us.

Why? Because they want to.

The guy on the late night infomercial tells me his product will make me rich in less than 30 days, while at the same helping me lose 30 pounds. I know he’s lying. I know what he’s selling defies the very laws of nature. Yet I grab my credit card and pick up the phone and invest in one more get-rich-quick-lose-your-gut-in-a-week-lie.

Why? Because I want to believe he’s telling the truth. I want to believe his lie.

Why? I really don’t know.

And that’s the truth.