Honesty is a highly acclaimed virtue. This virtue is established through words and actions. It is simple, yet also difficult to attain absolute honesty. According to the dictionary, honesty is truthfulness, justice, equity, genuineness, reality, sincerity, and morality. In contrast, honesty is not: deceit, dishonesty, lies, tricks, or cheating. Any of these acts do not resemble total honesty.
There are numerous causes for people to not achieve perfect honesty. The most prevalent of these is fear. Fear of embarrassment, punishment, or negative consequences. Branch Rickey once stated, “Basic honesty allows a man never to be ashamed.” This tells us we have no cause to be dishonest. Being honest has many advantages, some of which include trust from others and opportunities for the future. If youth are honest they are enabled to make wise decisions, and to become good students, adults, citizens, employees, and employers. These reasons are only a couple of examples of why youth need to regard honesty highly.
It is very sensible for youth to be honest in all situations. William Shakespeare once said, “No legacy is as rich as honesty.” And Lise Meitner also said, “Justice is inseparable from truth.” We should be careful to speak and act in the truth at all times. School, home, church, social situations, [such as purchasing supplies at a store, or attending parties and sporting events] in legal situations, [such as probation hearings or being stopped by a peace officer] entertainment, and employment are great places to show complete honesty. Demosthenes, an ancient Greek orator, declared, “What we have in us of the image of God, is the love of truth and justice.” This statement finalizes the topic of having absolute honesty in everything.
