The ethics and morals of breaking promises and lying are normally taken to be a serious aspect in the society. Their violation is least accepted. The Principles of honesty, telling the truth, rightness, goodness and fairness are sometimes violated by human beings depending on the situation at hand. Human beings have freedom to choose what is right or wrong for them. However, this freedom does not only cover justification behavior of human beings. Lying and breaking promises are moral concern which calls for immediate ethical and moral intervention.
Honesty is the best policy. It is unethical to lie. Telling the truth is the best policy which sets people free. However, people should be concerned on the means in which they tell truth as it can be harmful if told with little care. There are various negative aspects of lying. It breaks pretenders trust in the society and lowers their self esteem and image. Liars and the deceived are frustrated to some extent. The domino theory urges that, a single lie must be followed by other lies to conceal the first lie. Therefore, lying for the first time can make an individual a liar for the rest of his life. On the other hand, it is morally acceptable to lie at particular situations. Life is more important than anything else. Therefore, it is right to lie for the purposes of saving life, national security and business secrets.
Relationships remain strong by keeping promises. It is ethically wrong to break promises. Breaking promises destroys relationships as well as social trust. It lowers people’s personal image and self esteem as well. The domino theory explains that, breaking one promise makes an individual to break more promises. Therefore, individuals should keep promises. However, it is morally acceptable to break promises in particular circumstances. Whenever there is a conflict which can only be solved by breaking the promise, it is justifiable to do so. It is preferred to break a promise to save life and better the living of someone.