The Pros and Cons of the Noble Lie

In class today I acted as Plato on the Noble Lie. I defended its use but now I want to defend and attack its use. The Noble lie is not always so noble. And it is at the same time. One could use the Noble lie for a plethora of reasons. They could save lies or destroy them. It just depends on the situation. Say for instance the current event with ISIS burning the Jordanian pilot alive as an offering to Allah (God) without remorse due to the fact that the Jordanian government did meet the terrorist group’s demands. The fact that such a thing could happen is unfathomable and demoralizing, especially to the men and women of the military who have to go against these horrible foes. A government might not want this information to leak out because of the effect it would have on its citizens. I agree with hiding it but I agree with the truth as well. This instance has showed that the noble lie can be very useful. Now I can show how this example can show that the noble lie is not so noble. The effects of keeping such information hidden are more than just revealing the truth and being done with the situation. If this information did not come out it would be unfair to the citizens and the military. The citizens should always know what’s going on with the military actions because they are the source of income for all things that the government does financially. Citizens could also have relatives in the military and they have the right to know what happens to their loved ones. The military and those who want to join the military should know the most due to the fact that they are the ones who actually will face the horrors of war and battle. They should know exactly at all times what they are getting into. Depending on the situation the noble is needed and not needed, these are the choices that our leaders have to make every single day.