Is HONESTY always the best policy?

Hi Claire, Sure Truth is best, though some times it may be bitter but its good. as u can hide the truth , later it will come out and then it will be difficult to manage it. When u r telling a lie , u have to tell more lies to justify it or cover it. so why do that. And if people find it out they will not trust u in Future, You know whats best thing about Speaking Truth??? You dont have to remember it like lies u tell, lol

Hi Claire, I like this questionof yours a lot :) And why? Because I have always been very reliable and honest friend to my friends, and in contrast to what you are thinking they do want me as a nearest and dearest friend because of it. Sometimes the bare and real truth is hurting, the thing is to say it with nicer words, instead of naked and rough. An example will be a talk with a GF of mine yesterday. She came here with a bag filled with clothes she had received as a present from her sister. She put this and that on, and on each an everyone I told her exactly what I thought of it using the best possible words :) There was a swimming suit from maybe the fashion 10 years ago, even though new and all. I told her that she looked like in it like her mum, and didn't she think the fashion has progressed from than on? She kept laughing while she went an hour or so later. The dress she got in the bag had an awful color, and I told her it wasn't going ok with her complexion, making her looking like a gray mouse :) She loved the comment and hated the dress. The rest was great however and I told her so. All freinds that I have always call or come here to ask for my opinion, while knowing that I would never share whatever with anyone else, and that theycan be sure that I am totally honest with them too. So I guess than I am lucky :)

I do believe honesty is always the best policy . One can always be honest and still not hurt someone's feelings . If a friend or family ask you if you like their new hairstyle and you don't really care for it you can still be honest and tell them that you don't care for it but that you are sure that many others will love it and that just because you don't like it doesn't mean that it isn't nice , just that it is not your style but how you feel isn't as important as much as weather or not they like it . You can use this same technique for anything that you have to say when you don't care for something but want to be honest and don't want to hurt the feelings of the one's you care about . If asked something you don't want to answer then you can always answer that you would rather not get into that for reasons of your own and leave it at that . There is no reason to have to lie about someone . If they know you then they will know that you are honest and don't want to hurt their feelings and will leave it at that .

yes,it is a traditional virtue to be honest. when i was a child,my parents taught me that i should be honest,tell the truth.in the process of the growth,i really feel that to be honest all the time is not easy,sometimes we tell a white lie.it does no harm to somebody,that is ok.

I do believe that honesty is the best policy, but in my experience in politics, I have noticed alot of goings on behind the scenes that would make you cringe. secret deals to gain support, and so on. i have come to understand that sometimes rather than lie, it is best to just keep quiet, and hope noone asks you about it and if they do...play dumb, that way you don't have to lie. If I can't be 100% honest with some one I usually hint the truth so I don't look like an idiot, but don't come right out with it as to not piss off the other people involved in the lie part.

I think so, I know sometimes honesty hurts, but still you have to be honest with people.

i dont think little white lies are that bad but usually lies just lead to more lies.

This is probably going to sound bad but i think that there is times in our life where we should just not be honest.... now with saying that i am not saying to lie about anything either Im just saying that sometimes you should keep things to your self if no one knows whats the harm right learn from what you did and carry on............ now im saying this as for minor issues not for murder or things of that nature, Keeping certain things to yourself doesn't mean your a bad person or a bad friend it could be that your dont want to hurt someone................................................ I hope this doesn't sound crazy LOL

Hello, I think honesty is the best policy. When someone lie about something, the person has to face the truth at one point of time. But, if the lie is for something good, and it does not hurt anybody or affects anybody, then it is not bad. It is for good. Ultimately, what I have to say is that honesty is the best policy.

Its always good when everything is ok. But sometimes your truth can offend others and mainly your friends. they feel bad about you for prompting them the truth. But personally I am honest and I like it.

the way i look at it, in cases one cannot be honest about something, might as well keep his/her mouth shut. i hate patronizing people just to make them feel good, cause i don't like it done to myself either. it's better to be brutally honest and at times be hated, rather than being liar just to please.

I believe it is because people will trust you more if you tell them the truth. I will tell the truth or say nothing at all because I can't lie unless it's a little ole white lie such as keeping a surprise birthday party a secret so I'll lie to the person and say I'm taking you out to show you something or what ever to get the person out of the house. But I won't lie about something that's important. No way.

to release us really from added pressures and contradictions and to finally face the facts, honesty still is the best option, though it might not be the best thing to say but its still is the way to the truth.

Honesty is definitely NOT the best policy all the time. I only lie about things that are shallow/unimportant that if said would only hurt the person it was said to. This means some things would hurt some people while the same comment would be fine with another. If you know saying a friend's new shirt is ugly will crush her, don't say it, unless you feel like her wearing it outside would cause her even more pain due to teasing. Some people want to know, some don't. Never lie about things that are intricate, important, or involve other people somehow or in the end they will hurt more when/if they find out the truth.

I think it is a situational thing. I stick to telling the truth, but sometimes I alter the truth to suit the situation. For instance, there are people that will not buy the truth. They love the "spiced up" story. There, it calls for creativity to satisfy that person.

there are times that i have to lie to save my butt. this is true also for other people. i know i am not perfect because i know i do different kinds of stuff that are stupid. doing stupid stuff made me realized the smart stuff. how can you know something stupid when you have not know something smart. all i am saying is that i can't be honest always. it is just not my personality and i could be in trouble if i become super honest while others aren't. if we live in a perfect world where people always tell the truth, then yes, i would always be honest. there is nothing to fear when everyone is honest.

It is my nature to be honest and if I cant be honest I dont say anything but walk away. A lie takes much of you, too much I say and sometimes you dont remember the lie you told. The truth is always the best and you dont have to try to remember what you said b4. I know that to lie is the easier way out but I love honest people even if what they are telling me is going to tear out my guts.

I believe it is necessary to be totally honest... but to tell the truth in a kind way. A truth doesn't have to hurt... a person might be surprised, or disappointed, but they are usually not hurt if they know the person has only their best interests in their hearts.

Very true Claire, its a catch-22. I think there are soft lies and hard lies. Soft lies get you through the day and will probably never arise again. You might say somethings to people throughout your day just to avoid drama and then forget about it. Hard lies are created, no where near being actual and used to either make things look great or to cover up something shameful that you probably shouldnt have done. In that case its like you said, it feels like an easier option, but once you start a hard lie, its out of control unless you can keep up with it. But thats work in itself! The truth is easier to deal with rather than believing a lie and then hearing the truth later on. Its much harder to forgive I think.

Honesty is the best policy, every time, all the time. Why nurse a doubt whether it is always the best policy? It may be a fact that many people will respect you for your honesty but may not want you as a friend. But it should not make you weak in your resolve to be honest. I look at this way.