by Silkbutterfli

Created on: February 24, 2010

Ask yourself this question: If you were talking to a friend or family member, would you rather they tell you the truth or lie about something?  Personally, I would prefer that they told me the truth, always.  Honesty has always been the best policy as far as I am concerned.  Have I ever lied?  Yes, but usually the little white ones: "Oh sure, everything is fine", "No, nothing is wrong", to spare a family member worry over how I was really doing.  As a general rule, I have always tried to tell the truth.

When my older girls were growing up, I learned that telling them the truth was always the best thing.  I didn't want them coming back to me at a later date and saying, "But you said....".  A lie will always come back to haunt you later, whether it be a day, a week, a month or year or years later.  I have never wanted to labeled, a liar, by anyone.  I have always preferred to be thought an honest person, someone others could trust.  When it comes down to it, being honest is a form of trust.

Being able to trust someone, you have to count on them being honest with you.  If you were dating someone and they didn't feel the same about you as you do them, wouldn't you rather know it and maybe move on and find someone that will return those feelings?  I know I would.  Yes, it hurts to hear the truth in a situation like that, but it is better to know that you are in a relationship that doesn't look like it has a future.  I am sure that we have all been in one like that at one point in our lives.

Honesty does not seem to be a big issue in today's society.  People have lost the values that used to make up a great country or a great person.  It is sad to see that.  As a parent, I have always tried to instill in my girls that being honest and truthful is the best policy.  There are a lot of kids out there that have never really been taught that.  A great example of that is, when a parent punishes a child, the child can now call the police and tell them that their parents abused them, even though it is far from the truth.  I really believe we need to go back to the old school of doing things and teach our children the same way we were taught.  You lie, you steal, you skip school or whatever offense they have done, you get punished for it.  It might teach our next generation what it means to be honest, trustworthy citizens.  We need to start with the old saying, "Honesty is the best policy" and go from there.  I remember even getting my mouth washed out with soap for telling the smallest lie when I was growing up.  What would our kids think of that today? 

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