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Good people can be easily fooled by well-meaning people who are mistaken, misguided, misinformed or unstable. People you love and trust who truly believe they are trying to help you make what they think are good decisions. Their influence is welcome and their concern genuine. Unfortunately, they press personal feelings and viewpoints along with prejudices, preconceptions and biased attitudes. We have all been fooled by those we love, from Santa Clause and the Easter Bunny to “I am not a crook!” and “I never had sex with that woman, Monica Lewinski.” We believe because we want to believe. We believe because it hurts too much to accept the fact that we have been fooled by someone we love, someone we trust emphatically. Sometimes they tell us untruths because they believe it is in our best interest to not to know the truth, sometimes they truly believe the falsehood they are passing on. Sometimes they are rationalizing to hide an embarrassing or immoral foible. Be careful what you believe, even those you care about deeply may not always be an accurate source of information.