Should You Feel Guilty About Lying to Government Officials and Agents of the Government?

 At the post, Is Raising a Medical Exemption a Proper Way to Deal With Those Who Want Us to Wear a Mask?, The Contractor makes a comment that deserves further discussion. 

He writes:

I never raise a medical exception. I just am afraid to lie. It's not something moral, it's more of a deep seated guilt. I found another path that works for me, where I simply put a mask in my pocket live normally. I very very rarely get asked to put one on. The exceptions are govt buildings, hospitals, theme parks, and for some reason barber shops. I guess that goes back to politics. Other than that, at least here in my home town, no one says a word.

Truth is very important in a civilized society. A civilized society can not exist if it consists of a pack of liars.

That said, lying to government officials and agents of the government is an entirely different matter. Government is always about anti-civilization. 

Government is about a group that refuses to tolerate a society where men go about their business without overlords. They do not deserve respect (except for the very rare individual who enters politics or government to dismantle it).

Government officials and their agents do not deserve the truth. Their only goal in obtaining truth is to use it against you.

A key part of the Miranda warning tells more truth than the government generally reveals:

Anything you say can and will be used against you...

If a thug came up to you and you could get away with life, limb and property only by lying to him, why wouldn't you do it? 

Government officials and their agents are thugs. They are anti-civilization.

I have raised the point that the mask harassment (which is much more aggressive here in San Francisco) is a way for us to learn how to deal with future government-related harassments that might be more severe.

Learning that there should be no guilt felt for lying to a government agent could be a very important lesson to learn now so that at some point in the future it saves you during important seconds against severe statist consequences.

Yes, truth is very important in the civilized part of your world and should be practiced all the time.

But there should be no guilt felt about lying to thugs, government or otherwise, if it makes tactical sense to do so.

In Eastern Europe during the Soviet era, it became second nature to all to lie to government officials. These lies most certainly saved many lives.

I hasten to add that any lies should be well thought out in terms of risk-reward. Lying under oath for example could mean even more serious consequences. But if the risk-reward is clearly in your favor there should be no hesitancy in lying to a government thug.

I know it may be difficult for many to adapt to this idea since when we were younger it was always beat into us that lying is never right but that was a much less oppressive time when the distinction I am making between your civilized life and dealing with various types of thugs was never made.

Get over the guilt now. It is misplaced and may cost you severely at exactly the wrong time.

A well-placed lie can sometimes be more powerful than a punch to a government thug's face.  

-RW