Could You LIE If You Had To?

Lying is bad, we’ve been taught this since we were youngsters.  You don’t lie about where the cookies went, about who left the juice out or about where you were after school.  One should always tell the truth because it’s the right thing to do.  Lying as a child will often get one “the belt” or even worse, grounding during the summer when all the friends are outside having fun.

It’s one thing to avoid lying as a 6 year old but as an adult (and especially if T-SHTF) should this always be the case?  There are those out there who will climb up on the hill of morality and claim that any lie is wrong and to even consider such actions compromises one’s integrity.  In most cases this would be accurate but I would submit that there are certain circumstances when telling half truths, intentionally misleading people or downright lying would be completely necessary.

Allow me to go further into the rabbit hole and give a good example of lying which is advocated by other pepper-ish websites and forums.  Some suggest putting up signs which state “Food  / Shelter / Water” with an arrow pointing in the opposite direction of one’s homestead.  Of course there is no food and water that way but the intent is to mislead the golden hoard so they do not cross into your property looking for supplies.  Another example would be individuals who choose not to tell people about their guns or preps when asked, maybe they state they sold all of their guns or have no preps at all when in fact they have a rather robust stash off site.  Half truths?  Absolutely but all in the name of OPSEC.

What if post SHTF your town is overrun by a group of individuals who you do not identify with but in order to survive you have to “play the role” until you get out.  You wouldn’t compromise any personal beliefs by participating in their hooliganism’s but you might pretend to support their effort and welcome their presence.  While you were doing this you’d be gathering necessary intelligence on their strengths and weaknesses and planning an escape to your secondary location.  You’d essentially be lying but it would be justified, or should you go out in a hail of bullets with your family at your side knowing you did the right thing?

The number of scenarios out there which any of us could face are almost endless, many could require the use of half truths and misinformation in order to increase our chance of survival after T-SHTF.  Consider this, foreign agents and undercover cops do this all the time…they just know when to turn it on and when to turn it off.  One must be flexible and not constrained to a thought process of “there is only one way to get this done.”  Those who can adapt to scenarios with cunning and wit will often stand a much better chance than those who box themselves in with self imposed restrictions.  How many undercover cops would be successful if they responded YES the first time they were asked: “hey man, are you a cop?”

Try this the next time you are traveling.  Go to one of those middle of the road restaurants that serves the sub standard processed frozen foods, you know the ones I’m describing.   They usually have a bar in the center and are a gathering place for business types who want somewhere to walk to from the hotel.  Sit at the bar or a high top and strike up a conversation with someone, and when they ask about who you are and what you do just make something up.  My name is Bill and I’m from Charlotte, NC.  I’m a salesman who works for XYZ corp and I specialize in blah blah blah.  Here’s the catch, you’d better do your homework in case Joe blow sitting next to you is also from Charlotte or has family there.  This whole exercise might seem a bit ridiculous but if you can carry on a conversation with someone you will never see again and (without blinking) convince them that everything you are telling them is truth, you’ll have another arrow in your quiver if T-SHTF and the chips are down.