White Lies

What are some occasional white lies most of us incorporate in to our daily lives? "I'll be there in five minutes!" (Yea, more like in a half an hour, I just don't want you to worry) or what about "I'll do my homework as soon as I get home" (or at 9 pm) oh and lets not forget the famous "I worked out for hours." These lies can end up being harmless, but in some cases they can be disastrous. Experts claim that in the end, there is little difference between  a "little lie (complementing the socks your Grandma gave) to a big lie ( covering up an extramarital affair)" (Ulrich Boser health.usnews.com). 

In the The History Teacher by Billy Collins, the teacher should have created a real sense of emotion when explaining the past wars and disasters so that his students can benefit and not let history repeat itself. But instead, he uses a series of understatements by describing the Ice Age as nothing more than a "Chilly Age, a period of a million years when everyone had to wear sweaters" (Collins 1). He does this to try and "protect his students innocence." He is fighting in a losing battle as he is trying to protect the innocence of those who are not even innocent. A playground symbolizes youth and innocence so its ironic how that innocence became the basis of "torment." The setting is used to illustrate how innocence cannot be persevered. What the teacher seems to believe is a white lie, is in fact detrimental as he is obstructing his students abilities to learn from the mistakes of previous generations. 

Innocence is collapsing and it is going viral. It is a disease and everyone is going to be effected by it. 

                                         

I am not innocent, so hurt me with the truth so that I can proliferate from it.