I watched a lot of TV as a kid. Primetime or decades-old reruns, it didn’t matter. I hung out quite a bit with Maxwell Smart and 99; Lucy and Desi Ricardo; George and Weezy Jefferson; Captain Stubing and Julie, your cruise director; Gomez and Morticia Addams, and many more.

I loved and trusted these characters and countless others, as they entertained me and occasionally taught some valuable lessons.

But they also did something else: they lied. To you, to me, to all of us.

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