Ibelieve you have asked the wrong question in the recent poll regarding lies told to the public ( “Is it ever OK for elected officials or institutions to lie to the public?” Sept. 24).

I am sure that we are all guilty of the occasional “little white lie” or inadvertent misstatement. There should be a modifier before the word “lie” such as “consistently,” “habitually,” or “recklessly.”

It is the endless repetition of big lies and the mounting accumulation of smaller lies that eventually dulls our perception of the truth — and our ability to discern the patterns that are leading to the destabilization of our democracy.

— Anne O’Hare, Baltimore

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