An astonishing number of people these days do not believe it is wrong to tell a lie or hide certain aspects of the truth. When did such blatant lying become socially acceptable? When I was growing up in the 1950s in Fargo, North Dakota, I was taught by my parents, my teachers, and my pastor that telling a lie was wrong. Telling a lie was not just wrong from a moral or religious perspective, but it was wrong in the sense that it damaged my character. In other words, if I told a lie and was caught, I would no longer be viewed as trustworthy in another personâs eyes. Today we would say a person who regularly lies has no integrity.