almost to a fault. and, sometimes, i accidentally offend someone (‘no… that camaro does not give you BDE’). i was just doing what i thought was right. but, now, i can’t help but wonder if honesty truly is the best policy?
i’m not surprised that most of you replied to my story by saying that it’s not okay to lie (some argued that it’s NEVER okay), but are you sure there aren’t any exceptions? here’s a hypothetical. a woman comes to your house and asks where she can find your baby brother, because she wants to steal him and sell him to the highest bidder. what are you gonna do? okay, this is an easy one, of course youre gonna lie. here’s another. say your boyfriend cheats on you. it was a one time thing, and he was drunk. would you wanna know about it? would he be selfish to tell you because, although it would get it off of his chest, it would cause you a lot of pain (& he knows that you probably wouldn’t do anything about it anyway). or would you wanna know so that you could decide if you wanted to continue the relationship or not? personally, i’d rather be told (and, quite honestly, i wouldn’t stick around, but i’d respect him for telling the truth). but hey, that’s just me. and that’s what’s so tricky about the truth.
i believe that every situation is unique and no one is in a position to tell anyone else what they should or shouldn’t do. in general, i do think that telling the truth is a far better option (and most will respect you for admitting that you are, in fact, human). but i do know that there are situations where a little white lie is the best thing to tell. like if your friend asks how she looks after she’s already out. i mean what good would it do to tell her that she looks anything other than fabulous? she can’t do anything about it, & she’ll just feel self-conscious all night. (if she asks before going out, however, it would be rude not to help a gal out and maybe suggest an alternative). i guess what i’m trying to say is that honesty IS generally the best policy, but NOTHING is ever absolute. be careful, though, because lies can take on a life of their own and once you start …. good luck, charlie.
