Opinions on Honesty

Many people think that honesty is overrated in today’s society but in my opinion, that is not the case. I would like to start off by emphasizing the meaning of honesty. Honesty refers to acting and speaking the truth, and being morally right.

To me, brutal honesty keeps things real. If one were to start lying, they would then have to come up with more lies to support that first small lie. These lies would then pile up and turn on them once the victim has found out the truth.

Neuroscience suggests that telling trivial lies desensitises the part of the brain that promotes the feeling of unease when we lie. Being honest wouldn’t make one think about unrealistic and impractical ideas of oneself, or in any situation. When things are going wrong, one would get their act together instead of hoping for things to tidy up on its own.

In my opinion, one of the reasons people lie is because they perceive that the truth is not favorable to them as an individual. People lie to make themselves look better, or to avoid some type of repercussions that they imagine a fact-based reality will hold for them. The saddest part about lying is that it is a sign of weakness. To lie is to admit that one cannot face the truth. A compulsive liar is admitting to everyone that they lack courage and that their self-esteem is so low that they are doing everything in their power to compensate for their lack of courage.

Many people think that white lies are harmless, but in my opinion, white lies do not benefit the other individual, and might even cause them to feel hurt if they find out the truth. For example, if a friend asks you if she looks good in an outfit that doesn’t match her style and you tell her that it looks good, she will listen to you and end up buying the outfit that she doesn’t look good in. Rather than telling a white lie just to please someone, I feel that being honest about it and telling the truth would be a better option as it could be taken as constructive feedback for people to improve on.

As the saying goes, ‘Honesty is the best policy’. Without honesty, one has to cover up the hard truth they do not wish to say. Being dishonest is just making life miserable for oneself. Therefore, in my opinion, honesty is underrated in today’s society.

Desiree Lim

3 Hope