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Health & Fitness

Honesty the Lost Virtue

Honesty, is it the lost virtue?

Here is a song for you by Billy Joel to set the stage before we get into the subject of Honesty.  (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Juo5veE7aI)

There are a lot of virtues that have been left by the side of the road.  The one I thought of when I was working on the Fault Finding blog was honesty.  As you look around you how many truly honest people do you really know?  Is it just me or is there a distinct lack of honesty in the world today?

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If you are a politician you don’t really lie you simply misspeak.  I just love that one.  I remember the controversy over Richard Blumenthal’s supposed misspeaking about his military career and who could forget Bill Clinton misspeaking about Monica until that blue dress showed up.   

I have begun to think that if Abraham Lincoln was alive today he just wouldn’t fit in.  He got the title “Honest Abe” for a reason.  He was an honest man.  You might want to check out more about honest Abe (http://www.inspirationalstories.com/4/436.html) (http://www.ask.com/answers/82220401/why-is-abe-lincoln-called-honest-abe)

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The amazing thing about Abraham Lincoln was that he was a lawyer.  Does anyone out there believe that many lawyers are honest?  I know at least one fellow that is a lawyer who is honest.  I’ll get to him later.  You might want to consider this, I was once told that a lie is anything true or false that is intended to deceive.  Just spend a few minutes thinking about what lawyers do for a living.  You might want to watch the movie “Liar Liar” with Jim Carrey.

While doing the research on this I came across a really cute commercial that you might like.  (www.youtube.com/watch?v=HZuJHVNSi7A)  In some ways it explains those little white lies you have heard about.

Gone are the days when our heroes were good honest men and women.  I’m not quite sure what happened to turn things so upside down.  I turn on the radio and hear about athletes using drugs to gain the edge.  I think that is called cheating.  I play a video game on line and some of the other players are “boosting” to complete challenges.  Basically, they are cheating too. 

There are, however times when a glimmer of hope arises to make me feel that I am wrong about this.  A lady that I know drove off with her lap top computer on the roof of her car.  It fell off somewhere in Norwich and she had no idea where.  To her and my amazement someone picked it up and turned it into the police.  She actually got it back!

But then, that same lady had her car stolen (along with over one thousand dollars cash) only a short time before she lost the computer.  Needless to say, she hasn’t seen her car or the money since.

The problem for me is that I do not have a good enough memory to be an effective liar.  It’s that old line about the tangled web you weave when you begin to deceive.  I’m sorry but I can’t remember who I said what to.  Basically, the truth is easier to remember and I actually forget that once and a while.

What I want to do here is talk to three special individuals and ask them three questions about honesty and pass along to you what they tell me.  In the process perhaps my outlook on this matter will improve.

Here are my three simple questions:

1.     How important is honesty in what you do?

2.     Do you think that honesty is a lost virtue?

3.     Many people are dishonest in order to get ahead financially or otherwise.  Is that something that you think is justifiable?

The first person I would like to introduce you to is Lee Elci.  Whenever I get up early enough I tune in to 94.9 FM and listen to his show from six to nine in the morning.  You should try it because he is really worth listening to.   He is certainly not just another pretty face.  (http://www.949newsnow.com/page.php?page_id=91)

How important is honesty to Lee Elci in what he does?  On a scale of one to ten Lee feels that honesty is a thirteen.  You don’t have to listen to his show for very long to get that impression.  To quote him directly, “I can’t think of a situation where a lie or misdirection serves anyone better than the truth.  Personally and professionally, honesty is all I can ask from someone.”

Honesty and character are important to Lee.  “Say what you mean and mean what you say.”

Is honesty a lost virtue?  His answer made me think a bit and I am starting to lean in his direction.  “No… it’s not a lost virtue, but I do find that there is an increasing number of people who have no issues with dishonesty.”

I think that Lee is on to something and he has a solution for each of us to try.  It is this, “the trick is to keep those people out of your inner circle”.

Is being dishonest justifiable?  Well for Lee Elci, honest is not only the best policy, it is the only policy.  “If it takes you lying or deceiving a friend or co-worker to better your situation it’s a situation that is not worth having.”

So the next time that you tune into 94.9 and hear Lee Elci’s voice you will know just what kind of man you are listening to.

Earlier I mentioned one Lawyer that I know without a shadow of a doubt is an honest man.  I have known this guy since he was a teenager.  He is a lawyer, a journalist and a successful author.  Here is what he said in response to my questions.

“Trust is the essential ingredient in what I do as a journalist.  Without it I can’t do my job.”

This guy knows that honesty is one of the major building blocks of trust.  But what about the lost virtue question?  His answer put another chink in the armor of my first conclusion about honesty.

“Not really.  There are still plenty of honest people.  There are also those who are willing to discard honesty for personal gain.  I just try to associate with people I can trust.  Fortunately, the majority of my friends and colleagues are trustworthy people.”

What about all those people that justify being dishonest to get ahead?  My wife and I really liked this answer.

“No.   But dishonesty is as old as the Bible.  It’s been around longer than The Ten Commandments.  The best way to spread honesty is for parents to teach it to their children through example.”

How about them apples?  So, just who is this mystery guest?  His name is Jeff Benedict.  He is a journalist, an author, a lawyer and most important of all an example of honesty to his children.  (http://www.jeffbenedict.com/)

My third and final individual is John a retired corrections officer.  This is one individual that has had close up contact with dishonesty.  At his request I will not be using his real name or identify where he worked.

I have known John personally for many years and I can vouch for his personal integrity.  I was very pleased when he agreed to give me the answers to my questions.  Although we talked on the phone his answers came in the form of an email.

John told me that as a corrections officer honesty is extremely important.  I was surprised to discover the reason for that.  This is what he said.

“Honesty builds trust between you and others.  The reason why it is important, your word is everything inside of the correctional facility.  If you are honest it makes your job easier and harder.”

Okay, when I read that last sentence I thought he had made a mistake when he was typing it out, but then I read further and found it wasn’t a mistake at all.

“Easier because, others learn to trust you and place confidence in what you do and say.  Harder because, in the prison setting not all people are honest.  Some expect you to lie for them to cover up their lack of control or immaturity.  In other words they create problems and expect you to cover for them by lying.  However, being honest is the only way to help others to be honest.  I have found that by being honest, others respect you.”

When you think about it how much respect do you have for someone that proves to be dishonest?  Can you trust them to be honest with you?  Isn’t being able to trust someone at the core of any relationship?

When asked if honesty was a lost virtue he said something that I think most of us would agree on.

“If you take a look at today’s politicians, then yes.”

To this point I would like to get your input.  Do you think that most politicians are honest?  If not, just what do we do about that?

He went on, “I have worked with a lot of people over the years.  I have found that most are honest.  There will always be a group that for one reason or another will be dishonest.  I simply avoid people like that as much as I can.”

John answered my final question about justifying dishonesty with this statement, “No, I don’t think it is justifiable.  Take a look at the papers and see what happens when people are dishonest in dealing with their fellow man.  Prisons are full of people who are dishonest.  To me at the end of the day, I need to look at myself in the mirror and know that I am right with God.  If I’m not, then I need to correct my mistakes.”

So what have I learned in all of this?  For myself, I have discovered that honesty is not lost it has just been misplaced by a lot of high profile individuals.  I’ve learned that honesty is an important part of many people’s lives.  I have also learned that no matter who you are justifying dishonesty is in itself dishonest.

What do we do about this if we do look in the mirror and see a dishonest person looking back at us?  How do we fix it?  How do we straighten out the crooked road we have been traveling?

One of the unintended consequences of being a liar is that you think everyone else does the same thing.  You end up in a place where whatever other people tell you becomes suspect.  This is not good for you or anyone around you.

Here is the deal.  It is difficult and sometimes impossible to straighten out the road behind you.  You can however begin to walk in a straight line and believe it or not the people around you will sooner or later notice the change in your course.

If you have children show them what honesty is.  As for those little white lies, avoid them because they add up!  And you know those politicians that misspeak; well perhaps we should fire them until they figure out we are watching.

Until next time, keep a smile on your face and the truth in words.  As a wise man once said, say what you mean and mean what you say.

My Website: http://tagewright.blogspot.com/

Download my novels "Operation Armageddon"
and "Project Vengeance" in Kindle Format on Amazon





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