While I agree that lying is an assumed characteristic of American culture, not everyone is on the bandwagon. As an honest person, I don't say "nice shoes" or "great sweater" when I don't genuinely mean it, I remain silent on the item. And I always qualify that I'm from north of Boston, a suburb of Boston or the Boston area, when asked about my roots, having grown up 15 miles north of the city. When I don't share details of my private life it's not lying by omission. It's more of a "none of your business" approach, but I don't build some fake persona to fill in the gaps, I let them make their own assumptions.
If a person says they love a restaurant, or ask me if I'd recommend one which I found so awful I will never step foot in the place again, I would never say "great choice." I may say "it's not one of my favorites," or "really? I'm not that crazy about it." I probably won't launch into how horrendous the service is, but I won't give it a thumbs up.
While I don't profess to always being able to spot a lie, I do find when you ask a point blank question, while giving the person direct eye contact, those first two seconds before they open their mouth will usually tell you what you need to know. When you meet a person you immediately don't trust, chances are they lie habitually. And the disingenuous compliment handed to you by the person wearing a fake smile tastes like the insult it's meant to be.
When raising my three kids I told them I would never lie to them. I may say, and sometimes did, "I'm not going to tell you that," but no lies. Consequently they trust me, always, to tell them the truth.
Clearly our culture supports lying, but there is a solid minority of honest people who co-exist in that culture. Those of us who are honest enjoy a great advantage over the hordes of liars in our daily comings and goings.
