Why are people so convinced and dedicated to deceptions and lies?

We have become a society who places "winning" above all else. In order to win, we may have to support that effort with deception and lies which, if we hear it and say it enough, we begin to believe it. America is becoming a self-centered nation that can rationalize any form of behavior as long as we associate it with winning and satisfying our own needs.

We will never get better as a nation as long as we pursue such behavior. WB.

I believe that it is due to fear - mainly a fear of death and the unknown. So yes, I would suggest that reality scares many people. In the same way that an OCD sufferer overcomes their feelings of anxiety through ritualistic behaviour, most people do the same to avoid reality.

People believe all sorts of things for all sorts of reasons, sometimes they get an obvious reality check, generally they don't.

A lie is often easier to accept, simpler ... to find-out the truth in things (it may even be impossible) is a difficult task. It requires energy, dedication, research ... accepting what is told on the other hand, is just easier - it only requires obedience; for a sheep that is not a hard concept. "The truth is rarely pure and never simple."

Oscar Wilde.

Truthfully even though it's sad to say, the culprit here is blind faith. The same blind faith that many people around the world have. Believe it or not these people are no different than Christians or any other religious groups who go to church every Sunday.

The paster at your neighborhood church basically gives you his personal interpretation of the bible each week and honestly, who knows if he is right or wrong? Not you, not me. He uses your personal life to convince you that you are in the right place.It's easy to convince someone of something if they are simply looking for an answer, rather than looking for an answer that makes sense.

Although this paster can not prove any of the claims he makes during his sermons, people believe him because it's easier to follow someone else than it is to lead. It's like fainting, I think when people faint they are just removing themselves from an undesirable situation. There body initiates the natural human brain reaction of fight or flight.

These people choose "flight" over "fight. " This is what religious groups do, they are leaving their lives in the hands of a religion, a paster, a sermon, a pope, a temple, a book, etc., all in the hopes that when they die they will wake up and everything will be alright. Just like when a fainter wakes up (Sorry to tell you it wasn't the holy ghost).

These people just seem like they are stupid or crazy to most,only because this man has the audacity to put an exact date on his predictions. Had he said that he knows that the end is coming soon without giving an actual date he would then be no different from your basic run of the mill religious cook. The same one you see at your neighborhood church every Sunday.

:).

Wayne Brown says that it's mostly about 'winning'. That's fairly close to the mark, from a male perspective. From a female point of view, uncritical acceptance is about being emotionally supportive.

What both frames of reference have in common is that acceptance of an idea is not about ferreting out the truth; it's about social currency. How can I use this meme to advance--or at least to preserve--my social standing? Fortunately, there's a third kind of outlook: geekdom.

Geeks like myself are motivated more by passionate interests in science, maths, or whatever, than by the prospect of appearing to be 'cool' in the eyes of our peers. Now that I've outed myself, here's my geek's take on the broader question: One reason for mindless acceptance of some propositions and mindless rejection of other propositions is a paucity of genuine curiosity. Hence the receptivity to easy answers and to prefab worldviews.As the old saying goes, a man without strong opinions is like a fish without a bicycle!

Because they don't know any better. Most people grow up in a certain tradition and follow it without questioning or seeking the truth for themselves.

Personally, I can't answer this any better than the Bible does:"The coming of the lawless one is by the activity of Satan with all power and false signs and wonders, and with all wicked deception for those who are perishing, because they refused to love the truth and so be saved. " 2 Thessalonians 2:10First you must know the Truth and then you must hold fast to it. The "fool" who thought the end of the world was a few days ago obviously did not know the Truth.

S Bible says: "No one knows about that day or hour, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. Mark 13:32. Yet he ignored it and exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped and served created things rather than the Creator.

Namely, his own delusions.James.

There are still people who believe the world is flat, that Neil Armstrong was in a Hollywood studio when he stepped down for those famous first words on the moon. There are ignorant people who believe something because they want it to be true. Ignorance and/or stupidity shows no bias regardless of race, religion, nationality, gender or sexual orientation.It has always been this way, it will always be this way.

P. T. Barnum was absolutely correct.

I wouldn't call it fear of reality, nor would I say it is an educational problem. I liken it to the guy who keeps buying drinks for the pretty girl in the hopes that all that giving will get him somewhere. If you want something bad enough, you'll keep on trying to make it happen, and the pretty girl depends on this as well (free drinks).

These people are not stupid and they aren't scared. In my opinion they simply don't think this world deserves to go without being judged any longer and they want that fateful day so much that they are blind to the con-artists who are out there (those looking for free drinks). We all handle the injustice of the world differently: some love it, some simply accept it, some work to prevent it, and others pray and beg for God to come and start smacking people around.It just so happens that some of those who pray for God to come and "set things right" get a little excited, sell all their possessions, and wait on mountain tops for the big day they thought was going to be yesterday.

Fear. Fear of "what if". What if they DID know about Pearl Harbor ahead of time?

If 9-11 was an inside job, what wouldn't "Big Brother" do to control us? If Bin Laden wasn't killed on May 1, what does that mean? The FDA is there to protect us, right?

If fluoride isn't good for you, why DO they put it in our water? Anything that could mean those in power are not here to protect us gets overlooked out of fear.

People don't lieAll hunan beings are decent and honest creaturesIve never heard of anybody not telling the truth.

Well maybe because they have been deceived and lied to.

Many times it depends on the person who is speaking the lie...it's our faith in that person...which makes us believe him/her.

I cant really gove you an answer,but what I can give you is a way to a solution, that is you have to find the anglde that you relate to or peaks your interest. A good paper is one that people get drawn into because it reaches them ln some way.As for me WW11 to me, I think of the holocaust and the effect it had on the survivors, their families and those who stood by and did nothing until it was too late.