November 9, 2012

Is honesty really the best policy?

I believe (almost) nothing is absolute. (See what I did there? Without the ''almost'', I would be believing in an absolute statement, heh.) Just because you're a mathematician, doesn't mean you can't be a novelist. *inserts relevant video*

I remember being taught in church that we are not meant to tell lies, not even white lies. Well, guess what, I don't believe in your lies. How is it possible for a grown adult to have never told a lie before? "Oh, this (shitty) spaghetti tastes great!" Either your ability to lie has evolved to a point where you could manipulate the interpretation of the nerve impulses from your taste buds (this may or may not be scientifically correct) or you lied, you bloody hypocrite.

There are many ways to bring across a message, and being blatantly honest isn't always the best way. Like mathematical analysis, there are different ways of approaching different cases. Sometimes, it's just better for people to not know the truth. Sometimes. 

I'm not talking about cheating-on-your-significant-other type of lies, because that (almost) automatically makes you a horrible person, but more along the lines of you-sing-like-a-dying-whale or did-you-seriously-get-that-hair-cut. Sure, you don't have to show approval, but don't go all out on a person. You don't have to be rude to offend or hurt someone. Wounds don't necessarily heal.

A relationship isn't build entirely on honesty, even the purest of gold isn't entirely pure. Sure, some confrontation and obstacles could lead to stronger bonds, but it could very well go the opposite direction. It's like a gamble. Heck, almost everything in life is a gamble. Maybe I could write about that some other time ...

Sure, there are traits of a person that you can't stand, but that doesn't necessarily mean you have to tell them! They don't have to know! Again, I'm not talking about traits that are disliked in general, but traits that you are personally irked by. Just because someone's laugh sounds like a hyena to you doesn't mean you have to point it out and rob them of one of the greatest pleasures of being human -- being able to laugh out loud.

I'm not really sure where am I going with all this, but all I can say is sometimes, if things are too valuable to put at stake, a lie is justifiable.

Funny, I remember posting something about honesty being the best policy some time ago, but I was in favour of it. I guess people change.
-Kritz

No comments: