Tell me Lies, Tell me Sweet Little Lies

In a democracy, the government is never justified in lying to its citizens.
Describe a specific situation in which the government, in a democracy, might be justified in lying to its citizens. Discuss what you think determines whether or not the government, in a democracy, is ever justified in lying to its citizens.
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In a democracy, the government needs to be accountable to its citizens. That is, public officials have an obligation to explain their decisions to the people so as to avoid corruption. When the government is caught lying to the people, it destroys any trust that people have in its leaders. For the government to run smoothly, the people must respect the institution and have faith that public officials will be totally transparent with their actions. This reasoning follows that the government is never justified in lying to its citizens. However, the vulnerability of the government to internal and external threats may sometimes justify lying for the purpose of maintaining a functioning institution.

When people elect their representatives, they expect the leaders to represent their best interests. Arguably, it is in the people's best interest to be informed about government actions and have the power to speak up when their needs are not met. The people communicate their opinions in different way---e.g., via the media and election season. When a government tells lies, citizens are hidden from the full picture of their leaders' actions and lack crucial information which can influence future votes. Indeed, a democracy flourishes when citizens become empowered in the midst of full and free information.

When caught in a lie, the government's credibility suffers. Following the US intervention in Iraq in 2002, the media characterized the Bush administration as having lied to the people. Specifically, the Defense Secretary addressed the United Nations (and American people) about the US need to eliminate the threat of weapons of mass destruction in Iraq. Whether this information was based on lies or just honest mistakes will probably never be determined. Nevertheless, the fact that WMDs were never found became a scar on the Bush administration and people's overall confidence in their government. In extreme cases, people's mistrust of government leads to an eruption of chaos and at times, revolution.

Governments have different motivations for lying. For instance, most people would think it is inexcusable to lie in order to hide the misuse of funds and corruption schemes. Lies are also made with the intent to ensure the security of nation. Truths can undoubtedly be used by enemies to destroy the nation. Truths can also cause people to panic--bringing the nation to an ungovernable state. Indeed, the government even runs whole departments based on "mistruths," such as the CIA. It is probable that lies told/truths hidden by the government, however, helped prevent occurrences of terrorist attacks on the homeland in the last decade.

A democracy is ideally a transparent form of government where people can trust in its leaders to represent them well. The government, however, finds itself in situations where lying to the people will help prevent chaos and national disasters. While the government might be justified in telling certain lies, there must be in place some type of mechanism that minimizes these instances. In general, government officials should strive to be as transparent as possible to maintain their credibility and help keep the nation running smoothly.