If life is driven by deceit and lies (which it surely is), what is the value of truth?
Lying is systemic - we can't help it. "I've had no problems at all with her - she's a lovely motor.", says the man selling his wreck of a motor car to an unsuspecting buyer. "This has been a lovely home - so solid and nurturing.", says the woman telling prospective buyers of the house that is about to have mining tunnels running underneath it. "Yes, I have lots of experience in just-in-time manufacturing.", says the job interviewee who doesn't even know what the phrase "just-in-time" means. Nature lies too - the angler fish with its little dangly thing that wiggles about just above its gaping mouth, luring smaller fish who think the dangly thing is food - only to be gulped down by the grotesquely looking angler fish. Or the venus fly trap that lures insects into its trap with sweet-tasting nectar, or the invisible spider's web, or the moths that look like wood bark so predators can't see them. Deception, disguise, and outright lies wherever you look. Sales and marketing departments employ professional liars, and business is the art of making money out of lying. But all of these things serve one end - survival. The lie is the engine of survival, and in life, it is indispensable.
So does truth have any value at all? It has limited value in life, although we have laws and legal constructs such as guarantees and warranties, so our lying doesn't get out of hand. Even so - the lie is pervasive in all aspects of life - even the most personal and intimate. Truth is only of value in your inner world. People whose inner lives are infected with widespread lying either go insane or are very unhappy. Of course, people do lie to themselves - pretending to be enthusiastic when they are not, pretending to be calm when they are like a boiling cauldron inside. But most people do have at least a smidgen of inner honesty. There is a stark contrast between the value of the lie in life and within oneself. In life, it is essential; within oneself, it is poison, and only a person with inner honesty has any chance of inner peace.