Honesty
Honesty. It isn’t just about telling the truth. The recipient of that truth also has agency in the matter. Few of us think about it this way, but I’m here to remind myself that I have a role to play in building an honest society. I’m going to assume most of us here understand the importance of honesty. But for the sake of building the case, I’ll go through it briefly. It is my belief that honesty is the best policy—not because it is some intangible virtue that somehow earns us karma points in the distant future or the next life. I’d rather be very specific and practical about why honesty is the best policy. There were countless times in my youth when I thought I could cover something up, that enough time would pass, and I would get away with it. Of course, there were also countless times I got away with saying, “I’ve forgotten my homework book at home”—but that’s a story for a different day. As we get older, people start depending on us, and we have to do our part. For example, at work...