We all lie. The only thing that differentiates us is how often we do it, and whether or not we own up to our falsehoods.
Heck, our brains even lie to us,
nytimes article. We're hardwired to be somewhat less than honest at times.
Work is my personal weakness. I make every attempt to be truthful with people closest to me. The honesty is what makes those relationships so special.
But at work I lie to smooth things over. Constantly. I play the games they want me to play. Game A: I'm always "busy." Game B: I want to always "do better." Game C: My 5 year plan is to <get promoted, finish a ridiculously challenging project, etc. Game D: I love everyone on my team and always want to support everybody.
Etc.
We're complicated creatures. I think it's OK to lie sometimes as long as you're not willfully manipulating people or being a sonofabitch in general. I can already see a few other posters on this thread rolling their eyes and feeling superior to me, but so be it. I'm human. I have absolutely no desire to be perfect.
I will say that I'm as truthful as possible on these boards and my blog. Being anon makes this possible. I could not, for example, walk into my manager's office and tell him that what he perceives as a pleasant boss-worker relationship is a complete and utter sham, unless I had a bag over my head, a voice modulator, and platform shoes on to change my height.
As others have noted, offering the full truth to strangers is, in many cases, dangerous business and to be avoided.
Love the Dune answers btw.
Edit: Link format correction