Lies

It's probably never too early to learn that you should not lie - but is not telling the truth justified at any time? And is it something you should have to go to court over? And are these questions too "big" for an 11-year old? That's the age of the girl, who cannot be named because of her age, who's off to court for allegedly lying about the whereabouts of a seven-year-old boy who was later found hiding under her bed. The boy, Tyler Deacon, had apparently run away the day before. State Emergency Service (SES) officers had asked the girl if she could help, but she allegedly lied to them. The girl has been reported for hindering police and will be summonsed to face court. The report I read in The Daily Telegraph raised more questions for me than it answered. If she "lied" to SES officers, why was she reported for "hindering police"? If she was asked is she could help, is it a matter of semantics - yes, she could help but no she wouldn't. And what were her reasons for concealing Tyler's whereabouts? Did she consider him to be in danger and was she protecting him? Had he asked her to keep his whereabouts secret? And is Tyler to be charged with any offences? Of course, this is not to imply that running away and having someone say you're not there or somewhere else is the right thing to do ... but I wonder how many of us have done it or something similar. The next time the phone rings and you wave to your partner or whoever answers the phone for them to say you're not there, spare a moment think about it.