There isn’t going to be a lot of people that would ever voluntarily admit to being straight-up dishonest. The reason that this is the case, is because most people do not like those that are known for being incorrigible, cheats, liars, and dishonest – which is to be expected, because people that have very bad reputations that are universally known by everyone, aren’t going to be welcomed as friends very often, because they are just too much trouble to deal with, and are basically seen then as being damaged and unreliable goods.
So then, most people make a point to at least try to come across to others as being basically honest, even when their behavior and actions surely indicate that they are not, because to be perceived as being wholly dishonest is a very bad place to be. What does help very dishonest people, though, is the fact that most people recognize within their own character that they aren’t always honest, so more times than not, having as a friend someone that lies from time-to-time, but not always, is seen as being okay, especially if those lies do not personally impact the other, because they themselves know that in their own heart, that they lie, sometimes too.
It has been said that honesty is the best policy, but what we so see around us, belies that proverb being lived; for many a person, lies a heck of a lot more than they willingly acknowledge or will admit to, and therefore they do not live up to the creed of actually being honest. That is to say, if honesty is one of those things, in which, a given person, can choose when they so want to be honest, as well as when it is convenient for them to be dishonest, and still believe that somehow that they are basically honest – then what we will so see, is people being dishonest, primarily in those cases, when the consequences of being honest will cost them something that they are unwilling to give up. In other words, there are a significant amount of people, that insist that they are fundamentally honest, because to cut to the chase, they only lie when they have to lie. That, in a nutshell, is the problem when people believe that being honest 99% of the time, signifies that they are honest people – conveniently forgetting that they lie 100% of the time, when it really matters.
A truly honest person, will unwillingly or not, face the music, and thus own up to their action or inaction that has been called into question. That person is a person of integrity, and should be credited for at least being honest, even though, they have clearly done something wrong. Those that admit to a mistake, a fault, an error, and of which, to make that admission, will cause them to “lose face,” to be punished, to be ostracized, or perhaps even worse, have shown that though their action was wrong, that they are at least willing to be fairly judged for who they really are. On the other hand, those that hide behind the façade of being honest, when they have in fact, been dishonest, don’t have the integrity to be judged for who they really are, because they lack the courage to show their true colors.