On Thursday 3/2/2023 we had discussed some of the statements on the Anticipation Guide for The Crucible. One we discussed was “Withholding the truth is the same thing as telling a lie”. Personally, I strongly disagree with the statement as they are not the same thing. Yes, you can lie to do it to protect someone else, but more often than not we do it out of selfish or malicious intent. Withholding the truth is simply exercising your right to remain silent. The fifth amendment was written to protect people’s right to withhold the truth until they feel comfortable doing so. You are not lying to someone by not telling them something. By withholding information from someone you can be protecting them, protecting yourself, or someone else entirely. I like to think of it as keeping a secret because when someone asks you to keep a secret you don’t go telling everyone, but you don’t lie to others about the fact that you know it. It is simply a decision someone makes that we have to live with and respect, even if we don’t like it.