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Expectation can set up de facto rules. For example, the British army would stand right there with big red coats and let you shoot them … once. That was the rule.

When the American rebels hid behind rocks they were violating the rules and the British objected. Eventually the expectations changed, which changed the de facto rules of engagement. The Geneva Convention was an attempt to stop the slide down the slippery slope by shaming countries into playing nice during war.

So if certain types of deception are considered playing by the rules, i.e. legal, then it is no violation. Pitchers are expected to deceive batters. Armies are expected to sneak up on one another. It’s the rule.

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Just some rambling thoughts.

It may or may not be the competition element that changes the acceptablity of lying because some forms of lying are especially reviled in competitive/war situations.

I suspect that people see a large difference in lying to an enemy in order to get ahead in a game, and lying to your constituents about who the enemy is in order to rally their enthusiastic support for your war efforts. (No, I’m not having a go at Bush, I’m just expressing the view of those who do have a go at Bush).

The key difference is loyalty and betrayal. If you lie to your enemy it’s likely that you’ve betrayed no-one (because your enemy probably doesn’t trust you enough to expect the truth from you), but if you lie to your own team you’ve abused their loyalty, squandered their trust and betrayed them.

So I guess trust is a big factor in the issue of deception/lying. Few people trust a used-car salesman, so most people expect the used-car salesman to try to deceived them. But then, that’s deception within capatilism, which is a competitive system…

Darn, now I’m back to your question, Xion. Why does competition change things?

Maybe it’s because people have an expectation, and therefore acceptance, of deceptive practises in competitive systems. And they accept it because they personally invest less trust in the “players” which, in turn, means they have less chance of being betrayed.

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I understand. My perspective is that I cannot know the truth on my own, therefore I place my trust in someone who does. Peace brother.

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Sports are the same way. Pitchers in baseball try to deceive the batter. Huddles hide the play from the opponent. You then fake left and go right. So skeptics can’t try to claim the moral high ground and say all deception is wrong and then go and watch a ball game. Neither can Christians.

So is there something deeper here regarding deception? Under normal circumstances lying is morally wrong. Why does competition change things? You could say sports is merely a game. You could say defensive war is a matter of self preservation. Lying to each other is treachery. Lying to the enemy is part of the rules. What’s up with that?

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