lies themselves are harmless, irrelevant, useless up until the point, they are acted upon.

I can't say I've ever thought of it that way, although I have recently been thinking how easily we accept that what we're told is truth, unless we're already sceptical. Especially if what we're being told supports that which we want to believe. Those lies are the hardest to face and the most likely ones that will cause people to lash out when faced with the truth.

As much as I dislike being lied to, once again it's just as much a case of taking responsibility for oneself in order to not act upon the lie.