Changing Connotations

               For some reason, a reason I never questioned until now, the word "lie" has a terrible connotation. Children, from a young age, are encouraged to use their imaginations, but are scolded when they lie. They are told that lying will get them tangled up in a web that will only get them into trouble. Of course, there are some things that one should always be truthful about; things that, if they are lied about, will harm others. But, as Bokononism depicts, if the lies are used to make everyone happy, are they really bad?
             The Cat's Cradle, a children's game that is played with string, loses it's meaning without lies or imagination. Without imposing the meaning of the cat in the string "cradle," there is no real reason to keep tension in the string, and the game falls apart. In a similar way, lies can give meaning to a meaningless life. They can camouflage misery and hopelessness, and make people feel genuinely happy. Bokononism uses lies to complete exactly this task, and although everyone is aware that the religion is constructed to do this, it doesn't matter because they are all happy with the outcome. Creating this alternate, personal reality is harmless, and only does good for the otherwise miserable people of San Lorenzo.
            Vonnegut's Cat's Cradle has, for me, changed the connotation of lying from something entirely negative, to something that can actually be very positive and helpful. If living in a constructed reality can make a population content, then why not construct this reality? In the end, when you are on your deathbed, none of the lies you told yourself throughout your life will matter. When a Bokononist commits suicide he or she says "Now I will destroy the whole world." (Vonnegut, 238) Although in the context of Papa Monzano's death the world is actually destroyed, this statement usually describes destroying one's own world; his or her personal reality. Even when this reality is destroyed, others' realities still remain intact. Therefore, lying to oneself in order to turn a miserable situation into a happy one is not harming anyone, it is only helping.