Secrecy: Good, Bad, or Either Depending on the Situation?

Secrecy is a big issue. All of us probably keep secrets of some type or another at some time or another. Keeping secrets often involves lying though, and I think even so-called "white lies" are wrong.

Bill Cosby allegedly drugged and sexually abused many women over the course of many years. Former President Bill Clinton allegedly did, too. If the allegations are true, how could they have been kept secret for so long?

Lying begins with children. At an early age many (most?, almost all?) children are told stories about Santa Claus, the tooth fairy, and/or the Easter Bunny. Would it be better to tell children the possibly true stories about Saint Nicholas, and if fictional stories are told to children about Santa Claus, the tooth fairy, or the Easter Bunny make it clear that they are fiction. Gifts can still be given to children without lying about the source of the gifts.

Often lying is done to cover up for a friend, relative, neighbor, or "buddy." Instead, wouldn't it be better to offer constructive criticism and loving correction to that friend, relative, neighbor, or "buddy?" Wouldn't that make the whole situation better? I am confident that our world can and would be a better place if all sought to correct errors in a caring, compassionate, humble way instead of seeking to cover them up by telling lies.

Secret organizations that use their secrecy to cover up wrongdoing--and even to encourage wronging-- are acting in error as I see it. We can do better, and we need to.

Sometimes it's good to keep secrets rather than telling everyone everything about something. But even in those situations I think it is wrong to lie to cover things up to keep the secret. Instead, tactfully, politely, lovingly, but firmly say something like, "I think it's better that I don't say anything about that," or "I promised to keep it secret, because I think it is better not known to you or to others," or something similar. And those secrets will in my humble opinion typically not involve ongoing illegal, immoral activities, which generally do need to be corrected and/or exposed in a loving way.
  
As a general rule, instead of committing to keep secrets when we know of wrongdoing, let's seek to hold one another accountable in a loving way. Let's seek to correct or expose minor errors before they escalate into big ones. Let's seek to do the right things. If we do, we will experience blessings from the highest righteous authority, which I call God, and help make our world a better place.