The best policy

Olga Brajnović

10 years ago

Is it possible to be too honest, or is honesty always the best policy?

Lies, even good intended ones, can be a source of a lot of confusion and suffering. At the end the truth prevails anyway. Is better to be always honest. No matter the consequences. My Mom had to endure prison and persecution because she was honest telling that she believed in God and insisting in going openly to the church in a communist regime. She told us that, that way, at the end, everybody respected her because of her coherence. It was hard but worth it, she said. She taught us to be always honest and tell the truth.

When I was young they said I was too sensitive. Once I had to pass a very important exam and I was studying hard. My older sister was pregnant, and the day before I had to take the exam, she had her baby, but after a few hours the baby died. They decided not to tell me about it that night and wait after the exam, afraid of my reaction. But I found out about what happened in the library. A common friend told me. And that was far more traumatic for me. From that day I told them never ever do that to me again. I want the truth immediately always. No matter how hard it is. And that works nicely in my family.

Every time I have been in situations when people tried to “camouflage” the truth the result was a lot of confusion misunderstanding, anger, distrust. Honesty is not always easy but is the only way to understand each other and to build trust.

In my work as a journalist honesty is basic. If you’re honest you can build trust among your sources and your readers. And most importantly you can do your job: tell the truth about what’s going on and you’re reporting about. Maybe without honesty you can find a faster way to success, but it would be a temporary and unjust success, not worth it.

Daily Prompt: Truth or Dare.
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