Many of us are most likely familiar with the well-known quote- “honesty is the best policy,” and to a certain level of consent, I agree. Robert DeShaun Peace was a man of two different worlds, born and raised in Newark, NJ, and then later attended an Ivy League institution. He possessed character, something the BugerBoyz were truly privy to, immense intelligence, and mystery. Throughout the course of his life, he came into contact with thousands of diverse human beings. He was considered a friend to “Yalies,” South Americans, and the people of Newark; and yet, not until his utterly tragic and unexpected death, did they all realize exactly how little they really knew of him. “None of us had actually known Rob as well as we thought we did.” (Jeff
In “The Death of Honesty,” William Damon raises the concern that current apathy towards increasing dishonesty threatens democracy. In this essay taken from the online volume “Endangered Virtues ” published by the Hoover Institute in 2012, Damon initially concedes that there are situations where lying could be considered acceptable. However, with that being acknowledged, he transitions to his main premise that honesty is losing its importance in society and will lead to its downfall, and he cites examples in politics, law, journalism, and business in contemporary society where dishonesty is expected, and even, condoned. Damon finally directs his remarks pointedly at teachers and current students who accept cheating in schools. To persuade his audience of university students and academic scholars, Damon uses many rhetorical devices and styles including classical logos, pathos, and ethos, and allusions to make an ethical appeal regarding the necessity for honesty.
We all have some experience telling something that is untruthful or just an outright lie. You go looking for a way out of a tense situation when you need it most? Are you afraid of what happens when you are under stress, do you tend to be "creative" with the truth? In the story “The Secret Society of Starving” by author Mim Udovitch, girls that are suffering from eating disorders talk about the secret world of the online pro-anorexia (“pro-ana”) community. It is only there that they can truly express themselves and even motivate other anorexic people. Similarly, in the essay “Can You Tell the Truth in a Small Town?”, Individuals struggle to put their true words down on paper, knowing that if they do the secrets they share could result in them being ostracized from the only community they know, . In both “The Secret Society of Starving” and “Can You Tell the Truth in a Small Town?” The writers explore the different lifestyles of two communities and how they both seem to encourage individuals to hide the truth from the rest of the world, their lies compounding and culminating in their further removal from the community and their loved ones
Throughout the novel A Separate Peace by John Knowles, the author uses the motif of perception and reality to convey the theme that one’s preconceptions and denial can alter their perception of reality. For instance, Finny’s denial of Gene causing his injury, Finny’s denial of World War II, and Gene’s belief that Finny is secretly jealous of him all convey the idea of a denial-altered reality.
In the past few years, race and ethnicity has affected the way humans interact and react with each other. Sometimes it becomes the leading barrier that causes individuals of different ethnic backgrounds and races to lack unity with different ethnic groups, communication skills and respect for each another. In the case of Jordan Davis, the lack of communication between races was a major barrier that caused a normal evening to end in such a tragic manner. If both individuals were to handle the issue with better respect and better communication skills, Davis would still be alive, and Dunn would be a free man. Sometimes as individuals we tend to forget that we can sometimes be too judgmental towards individuals because of personal feelings, and make prejudice assumptions of people, based on the color of their skin or even the type of music they prefer to listen to. On November 23rd, Michael Dunn made prejudice assumptions about four black teenage males playing music, and decided that he had the right to fire shots into unarm vehicle to get them to turn the loud music down. If we continue...
Throughout the historic fiction novel A Separate Peace, John Knowles conveys that ignorance leads to a skewed perception of reality and one’s self through his development of Phineas’ character. During a discussion with Gene about the ongoing war, Phineas asks Gene, “I don’t really believe we bombed Central Europe, do you?” (29). The incredulity of Phineas’ question implies that he is unable to acknowledge the reality of World War II, distorting his perception even further. Phineas’ inability to accept war, which is rooted in vicious savagery, further emphasizes his naiveté. When Gene first faces the tree by the river, the possible consequences of falling off the tree concern him, but he observes that Phineas “of course saw nothing the slightest
The Parkland shooting has impacted my ethical decision making. Seventeen innocent young adults were brutally murdered less than one month ago. I cannot understand why there is so much hatred across America and in the world. I don’t think that I will ever understand people’s motives that want to hurt people. I honestly could never hurt another human, even if I am mad at them or if they were hurtful to me. I now understand how important it is to be kind to everyone no matter how they act or look. You can’t always
After reading chapter three Alternatives to Self-Disclosure I have concluded a benevolent lie is when someone manipulates the truth to benefit the situation, but not with the intentions of harming anyone in the process. This type of lie is better known as the harmless little white lie that is intended to protect those we tell them too. Learning about this topic pointed out how often it happens without notice, for example my little girl just lost her front teeth and asked me if she will look pretty for her school pictures. My reply was “You’re going to be the most beautiful girl in the world!” Don’t get me wrong, she is beautiful to me no matter what, but not to the world. I just want her to have self-confident in her smile. The most common
...ns in regular life. For instance, recently the famous bike rider Lance Armstrong finally confessed that he had been lying about taking performance enhancing drugs. Armstrong lied to the public and to himself about taking the substances; the reason for his untruthfulness is so his good name will be preserved. However his lies eventually caught up to him.
The case, James Frey, Oprah and A Million Little Pieces, is a prime example how an individual’s actions can conflict with the basic virtue of honesty. In this case, the results of the Smoking Gun’s investigations of James Frey memoirs depicted in the book, A Million Little Pieces, revealed that facts were embellished. Oprah’s initial reaction to the quality of the truth was to believe that Frey’s actions were just. Despite Frey’s admission of inflating events, Ms. Winfrey felt that because the important facts were true then he was being truthful (Jennings...
It may be a radical viewpoint on government, support for an unpopular individual, or any number of things. Similarly, almost everyone has something that they would like to keep secret, such as a sexual fetish, medical condition, or history of abuse. However, not everyone wants to remain completely silent about these issues. Humans, despite being social animals, “are discriminating of the things we disclose and to those to whom we share” (Jones). Anonymity allows people to talk more freely about controversial topics without affecting their personal lives (Kang). You can be honest and “show people what you want them to see, and still have your dignity and reputation intact”
John Ruskin, philanthropist and art critic, once said that,” He who has truth at his heart need never fear the want of persuasion on his tongue.” What I think Ruskin means by this is that if you always tell the truth you never need to lie. You also shouldn’t need to persuade someone to believe your two cents of the story. John Ruskin, being a philanthropist would want to better someone’s life and by giving the advice to always stay true would strengthen relationships or trust. If you have two different stories to how to vase in the living room broke, no one knows who or what to believe. Then you have to admit to your falsity and suffer a more harmful consequence. This goes for anyone of any age. If we were to always have
Kelly, A., Kenny, C., Klusas, J., and von Weiss, R. (2001). What Is It About Revealing Secrets That Is Beneficial? Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 27, 657-665.
According to Miami News-Record Editor Patrick Richardson (2014), “Protection of sources is one of the major responsibilities of a journalist. The key is to extend anonymity only when it is absolutely necessary to get the story — i.e. the source will not speak on the record and is the only one, who has the requisite information, and it is necessary as well for the protection — whether physical or job related — of your source. If those conditions are not met then anonymity should not be extended” (Richardson, 2014).
Nevertheless, we as human beings are at times pushed to tell white lies in order to be kind to others, which is somewhat ironic. Doublespeak is sometimes the easiest way out. Yes, telling the truth is the ideal and indeed it is about the ethical means; however, we are living in a dystopias world where ideals are nothing but illusions. The objective of doublespeak is to hide the truth, to make the evil sound noble. As Lutz writes: “Ultimately, doublespeak does not promote or extend thought but prevents or limits it” (56).
I agree with the statement "honesty is the best policy". People will be able to trust people who are honest, liars will have rumors spread around about them, and it's just plain easier to tell the truth. Nobody likes people who lie all the time and won't know whether to trust them or not. People get annoyed by people who lie a lot.