The true test of any philosophy is how a given person reacts when they are placed between a rock and a hard place. After all, it’s easy to be honest when being honest has no possible penalty or downside to it. So too, it’s easy to demonstrate integrity when doing so, involves no possible loss of face or any individual harm. The true test for anyone, that claims that they are honest as well as being a good person, is that when compelled to exhibit such honesty, of which, this will surely, in this instance, cost them personally, or alternatively this will hurt someone that they deeply care about, is whether they then uphold that honesty or not.
We are instructed at a very young age to tell the whole truth, which makes it rather strange, that so many people when taught to tell the whole truth about something, hesitate, before they respond, as if they are considering their options, which, in many a case, they are. Once anybody, decides that they want to spin the “truth” in a way in which they exaggerate or leave out or change information in which they believe that by doing so, they have done what they felt they needed to do, then their cause of upholding whole honesty has been absolutely lost.
So too, many people, in order to do what they believe will help their cause, want to purposely distort information in their favor, so that they then come across as the “white hat,” so to speak, and the other side is then invariably painted as the “black hat,” which is made often worse by also distorting what the other side represents, to thereupon make the contrast between the two, much starker, and therefore the decision to be rendered by a neutral party, unquestionably clear. The thing is that there are few people or institutions that are completely right, all of the time; as well as there being few people or institutions that are completely wrong, all of the time. The point of the importance of holding every individual accountable to the whole truth, is that in life, there really aren’t any shortcuts, and those that will not willingly own up to complete integrity, are doing so, primarily because they desire to deliberately take what appears to them to be the easy path, instead.
The reason that integrity and honesty are so important is that in essence, by being less than honest, we are being deceitful, and that deceit is often so done for our own benefit, and clearly that benefit comes at the cost of those that are not in on the deceit. To fool others, is typically not all that difficult, and in many a case, isn’t all that risky, at all; for other people have their own priorities and concerns to deal with, and often don’t have the time or the inclination to check every action or every statement so made by someone else for its veracity. Nevertheless, though, those that lie and are dishonest, have a strong tendency to perpetually be looking over their shoulder, whereas those that are on the straight and narrow, have not only no need to, but they also are able to keep their eyes focused upon that which is solely worth winning. There are, all sorts of ways to run the race of life; those that do so with integrity will always get to their destination sooner, for that which is straight is the shortest distance; and that which is crooked as well as often doubling-back, is not.