Now this is one that the powers that be would choke on if they ever had to prove that they lived by it. Being honest isn’t just telling the truth. It’s all about your actions too. At my last job, I often found myself faced with situations where I had to decide whether or not to be honest. I did customer service, scheduling, and was a driver liaison. There were many times when drivers were only a half hour or forty five minutes out from the warehouse when they chirped my Nextel to ask if I’d gone for the day. Especially on pay day Fridays. They often needed to get their checks, retrieve an item that was in the building, or sometimes empty returns/trash from their trucks because they had to load quickly in the morning to get an early start on a long trip the next day. I could have said, no, that I had already left and then been gone before they got back, but unless I had something I needed to do, I waited for them.
It seems really simple, but it’s not as easy as it sounds. It would be easy to “forget” to sign out for lunch or to “forget” to sign out then add an extra hour on to the time card the next day. After all, nobody’s gonna know, right? Wrong. YOU’LL know. That’s what matters. You shouldn’t strive to be an honest person because you want to look good for others. You should do it because it makes YOU feel good.
How easy would it be to start telling people the truth instead of white lies that “won’t hurt their feelings”. You don’t have to be vicious to be honest. If you don’t want to talk to your friend that is ringing you up for the fourth time today and it’s only 10 in the morning, be honest and tell that you can’t/won’t/don’t want to talk to them right now and you’ll call them at a set time later. Then make sure you do it.
Have you ever been in a store and checked out only to get away from the line or to your car and find you didn’t pay for something because it was under your coat? What did you do? Or did you ever order something at a restaurant and find that they didn’t charge your for a drink or dessert? Did you bring it to the wait person’s attention? What about if you saw someone drop a five dollar note out of their purse or pocket and walk away. Do you keep it or call to them and give it back? You’re probably thinking that a lot of these things are good deeds and you’re right. They are good deeds. Often doing good deeds goes hand and hand with being an honest person.
I know a lot of states have passed “good Samaritan laws” which REQUIRE you to report a crime if you see one being committed. A lot of religions call for it’s believers to be their brother’s keeper or make sure that other followers of the faith are doing what they’re supposed to be doing. That too is part of being honest. West Point Military Academy is FAMOUS for it’s honour code. It’s sometimes HARD to be honest about yourself or someone who’s close to you. Sometimes you’re faced between being loyal to your loved one or being honest about what they’re doing or not doing.
I strive to be more honest today then I was the day before. This forces me to be aware of what’s going on around me. I was brought up to be aware of what was going on around me as far as watching for shadows coming up behind me or listening for signs that I was somehow in danger. Now I try to be aware of the conditions around me. If I see a shoplifter, I’m going to report him/her. If I find a toy or watch in the parking lot or entry ways, I’ll turn it into the store. I recycle regularly. Sometimes it’s tempting to just toss that half used tub of icing in the trash because I don’t want to be bothered emptying it out. I have to work to make sure I do the things I don’t want to do if I know it’s something I gave my word I would do.
If we set small goals for ourselves daily or weekly, we’ll soon see how much we’ve improved as individuals. On the plus side, we’re also bound to be honest about our politicians. If we see them doing something that’s dangerous to our country, or just a plain stupid bad idea, we need to speak out against it. We need to write letters and if need be, stage peaceful protests to get their attention. If we set our minds to it, we can all be more honest today then we were yesterday.
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