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I have had honesty thrust upon me from an early age. I have my plain and simple parents to thank for that. But more than that I have my blushing cheeks to thank. Maybe I was too young when I heard about George Washington chopping down a tree but I believed the story and anytime I was tempted to lie I found my burning cheeks turning cherry red. While I could possibly tell a lie it would be easily and quickly detected and so was pointless. Honesty is the best policy and, if you're a bad liar or have a bad memory and like neither tangled webs nor weaving, then it definitely is the best idea.

This of course is the rule and there are exceptions. My built-in guilty conscience is able to distinguish between malicious dishonesty and those tiny white lies that save us from offending our loved ones or causing unnecessary complications. Civilization is built upon people making compromises that allow them to live together and co-operate. How long would that last if we were completely honest with each other all of the time? Honest diplomats are the first to have their embassies burned down.

Another thing to consider is that if someone is a good liar then you can't trust them. If you witness someone you know telling a lie to someone else and you are aware of the deception only because of the inside knowledge you have then you would be foolish to think that that person would not be capable of lying to you in a similar convincing way. So once you get into the business of deception you lose credibility, you lose your good name and life gets more complicated.

I prefer a simple life. I find that honesty gets you that.

Learn more about this author, Sean McGoldrick.
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