by Henry R. Brandt, Ph. D.
O n e S u n d a y evening after church Mrs. Arnold spot ted the Bradleys and invited them to the house for coffee. “We’d love to come,” Mrs. Bradley said, “but we must get the children home and off to bed. Tomorrow is a school day and they’ve had a busy weekend. Maybe another time.” Mrs. Arnold was a loud, talkative woman; the Brad leys did not want to subject themselves to an hour with her. Mrs. Bradley’s answer got them off the hook and did not hurt anyone’s feelings. It was, however, a deceptive answer. Truth has a rugged hill to climb. It is much easier to deceive than to speak the truth. Man makes a habit of deceiving. Deception is so common and follows such well-defined patterns that the patterns can be named and described. Taken together, they are called “mental mechanisms.”
On the way home that night Mr. Bradley agreed with his wife that she had handled the situation extremely well. They both believed that she had done a good, whole some, constructive thing by turning down Mrs. Arnold’s invitation without hurting her feelings. This invented reason for the reply to the invitation was, however, a cover-up to explain why they did not accept the invita tion. Their answer was nothing short of a lie. Rationalization is a process whereby one justifies his conduct. By it he gives good reasons for doing a bad thing. Rationalization is the easy, the lazy way to get by. Who has not faced the desire to do something that his better self tells him is not right, but still desires to do it anyway? An example is exceeding the speed limit. “ I’m late getting home and I don’t want to worry
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THE KING 'S BUSINESS
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