If your lie saves lives, lying to bad guys is not just OK -- it's a moral duty: "There are times when it is acceptable, even obligatory, to lie. If it were 1850 and your friend were working on the Underground Railroad and the slave catchers pounded on her door and asked, 'Any slaves in there?' she would have an ethical obligation to lie. Her falsehood would be notable for its altruism, the seriousness of the harm it forestalled and for its lack of effective alternatives" (Randy Cohen, Jan. 15, 2005, <http://www.chron.com/cs/CDA/ssistory.mpl/editorial/outlook/2994439>). Similarly, if free Blacks and white abolitionists had secretly given arms to slaves preparing for a revolt while hiding that fact from slave owners, their supporters, and others (including some slaves) of uncertain loyalty, their lying would have been not only justified -- it would have been a moral obligation. -- Yoshie
* Critical Montages: <http://montages.blogspot.com/> * "Proud of Britain": <http://www.proudofbritain.net/ > and <http://www.proud-of-britain.org.uk/>