The Best Policy?

We must make the world honest before we can honestly say to
our children that honesty is the best policy.

George Bernard Shaw


We live in a world in which people seem to have lost their desire to be honest.  Nowadays (and probably in the past, too), honesty is something that is practiced as long as it can benefit someone.  "I'll be honest if there's something to gain from it," seems to be the standard attitude towards the concept.  Advertisers will be honest as far as it serves them, but they'll leave out information that could be vital for me to make a good decision about whether to buy their goods or contract their services.  All in all, honesty seems to have become the black sheep of the family, the person that people deal with only if they absolutely have to, only when they might lose out on something if they don't.

Bit it's important that we don't lose our relationship with honesty.  It's one of the cornerstones of strong relationships, and when we practice it consistently, people know that they can depend on us, and that's something very valuable that we can give to others and to ourselves.  Honesty taken too far can be hurtful and damaging, of course, but we can recognize those situations ourselves and deal with them when they occur--for the most part, honesty definitely is important.

In our political and economic worlds of today, though, honesty has lost its luster.  The Internet is full of blatant lies that are designed only to harm others and to make someone feel better about his or her views.  And those lies are being spread constantly be people WHO KNOW THEY ARE LIES, but who feel that they validate their own beliefs and ideals.  But you and I don't have to do that.  You and I need to strengthen our relationship with the truth and learn about when the truth should be revealed, and when it shouldn't.  We shouldn't ever hide it for personal gain, but only to protect others--there are situations when complete honesty can be incredibly damaging.

We know who we are, and we know that we want to live our lives fully--and honesty is one of the most important aspects of the character that we must develop in order to do so.  Let honesty into your life--live it and love it and share it.  Let others know that you're someone who can be trusted, and they'll appreciate you for that.  Most of all, though, you'll be a bright light in a dark world, and one of the people responsible for keeping honesty alive during these dark times.