I do not think that dishonesty is destroying American society and culture. Dishonesty has not increased significantly in recent years. I do, however, think that our society is hypocritical and needs to admit the place that dishonesty has. Our entire political system is based on dishonesty and the economy is boosted when products are sold due to deceptive marketing and false promises. This country’s educational system has always preached honesty as a virtue. We are taught to study our founding fathers who were apparently honest and noble men. America was also first colonized by religious fanatics who would probably cut off your hand for telling a lie. There is a myth about George Washington not being able to tell a lie. Children are also taught about how Abraham Lincoln was truthful to his fellow man, earning him the name Honest Abe. Our founding fathers weren’t as squeaky clean as we paint them and modern politicians aren’t as clean as they paint themselves. America obviously does not practice what it preaches. There are serious consequences to getting caught up in a lie, but other than that, lying can be beneficial in many ways. Dishonesty is most prevalent in the fields of advertising, and ironically politics. It is impossible for a politician to get elected if they are completely honest. The politician has to act like his policies have no flaws and they have complete confidence. A realistic statement for a modern presidential candidate to make would be, “I will do my absolute best do get this country in better shape but it is so screwed up that I can’t make any promises.” This would never work though because people want guarantees. Dishonesty in advertising is not the same as it used to be. Companies can’t tell downright lies without getting in huge trouble. What they can do is use clever word play, misleading pictures, and payment plans to make products seem cheaper than they are. In terms of politics, we are sensitive to dishonesty in all of the wrong ways. A person can say they are going to do one thing, and then do something completel