My Brother, Honesty
“I hold the maxim no less applicable to public than to private affairs, that honesty is always the best policy.”
George Washington, from his Farewell Address to the People of the United States, (1810).
If someone had told me years ago that Honesty would become my closest friend and ally in my daily life, I’d’vefigured theywere well-intentioned, but horribly misguided, and perhaps in need of some kind of emotional help. Wrong, Peter.
For a moment, think of Honesty and Dishonesty as two separate beings. Components of nature. All of us have a relationship with each of them. Honesty is my ally, Dishonesty is dangerous. Look around, nearly everywhere you see conflict, in the world, in daily life, Dishonesty is actively involved in the behavior, in decision-making.
I pledge my allegiance to Honesty. Why? you might ask. Because it always tells me the truth. It never misleads me, it never stabs me in the back, it never betrays me, it is always there and, no matter when, twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week, if I ask it a question, I get an honesty answer.
Honesty, is my brother.