fear – Page 2 – Darem Placer

For those who’d rather listen.

A lie is a choice to twist the truth on purpose. It is not a mistake or confusion. It is knowing what is real and choosing to say something else.

Most people do not lie because they are bad. They lie because they are scared. Scared of judgment, scared of conflict, scared of being seen as they really are. Fear is usually the root, not evil.

There is also what people call a white lie. It is a lie told to avoid hurting someone or to keep peace. It sounds kind and sometimes feels understandable. Still, even a white lie is a lie. It is truth covered lightly, hoping no one looks too closely.

Lying is not the worst thing humans do. There are worse things like violence, cruelty, and intentional harm. But lies often come first. Before harm, there is denial. Before injustice, there is distortion. Lying becomes the entry point.

The real danger is not one lie but repetition. When lying becomes normal, reality starts to bend. When reality bends often enough, conscience follows. What once felt wrong slowly feels acceptable.

Avoiding lies does not mean being brutal. It means slowing down and pausing before answering. It means saying less instead of inventing more, choosing gentle truth instead of fake comfort. Not every truth needs full detail. Boundaries are not lies. Silence is not dishonesty. Saying “I’m not ready to talk about that” is still honest.

Knowing when someone is lying is not about tricks or detectors. There is no perfect test. But lies leave patterns. Stories shift. Explanations grow longer. Answers dodge the question. And after the conversation, instead of clarity, there is confusion.

Truth may feel awkward in the moment, but it does not need maintenance. It lets you sleep without carrying extra stories. Lies feel easier at first, then heavier over time. Truth does not perform or demand attention. It simply stays where it is.

This is a song I wrote in 1989. It says the part about lies that explanations usually miss. It’s about consent to illusion.

I Believe Your Lies

Another long sleepless night
Thinking of some unforgotten moments
You may be old enough to understand
But you’re too young to withstand

Another alibi, I guess just a lie
Cutting the dotted lines of a discount coupon
I can’t take the bargain
Can’t blame anyone if I never gain

’Cause I believe your lies
As I look into your eyes
I believe in your lies

Another form of a bad routine
Saying wrong words from right thoughts
Only God knows what’s behind an alibi
Wish I could be there forever with you

’Cause I believe your lies
As I look into your eyes
I believe in your lies

Today (January 18, 2026) happens to be the 70th birthday of Tom Bailey of Thompson Twins. Fitting timing, considering how much this piece circles around lies.

⌨ ᴛʸᵖⁱⁿᵍ ᴏᵘᵗ ᵒᶠ ᵗʰᵉ ʙˡᵘᵉ ᵈᵃʳᵉᵐ ᵐᵘˢⁱᶜ ᵇˡᵒᵍ

Digital Albums by Darem Placer on Bandcamp — Listen. Support. Buy. Download.

Soldiers went from house to house. Doors were opened by force. Inside were families still half-asleep, still holding newborns who had barely lived long enough to be named. Baby boys were taken and killed where they were found. This was not war. This was enforcement.

The order came from Herod the Great, ruler of Judea. He had heard reports of a child born in Bethlehem, spoken of as a future king. A rumor reached him. A title. A possibility. That was enough.

Herod commanded that all baby boys in and around Bethlehem, two years old and below, be killed. These children would later be called the Holy Innocents. They were not targets because of anything they had done, but because of what someone feared they might become.

What makes the order harder to accept is how unnecessary it was. Herod was already an old man, around sixty nine years old. His health was failing. His reign was nearing its end. Time itself was already removing him from power.

A newborn posed no real threat. A baby would need years to grow, years to learn, years before power could even become a question. By then, Herod would have been gone. The violence did not come from strategy. It came from fear.

Herod was not protecting his throne from a child. He was protecting his sense of control. Fear does not wait for reason. It does not calculate outcomes. Once fear takes the lead, it looks for something to crush, simply to feel secure again.

That fear cost lives. Families lost children. Homes were left empty. History remembers the event not as strength, but as panic made lethal.

Power always ends. Control never lasts. But the damage done in the attempt to hold onto them remains.

And that is the pattern repeated through history. When fear leads, innocence pays the price.

⌨ ᴛʸᵖⁱⁿᵍ ᴏᵘᵗ ᵒᶠ ᵗʰᵉ ʙˡᵘᵉ ᵈᵃʳᵉᵐ ᵐᵘˢⁱᶜ ᵇˡᵒᵍ

Tag: fear

About Lies

Fear and the Holy Innocents