“Practically every mental health care practitioner, from the most erudite psychoanalysts to untrained self-help gurus, tell us that it is infinitely more fulfilling and we are all saner if we tell the truth, yet most of us are not rushing to stand up and be counted among the truth tellers. Indeed, as someone committed to being honest in daily life I experience the constant drag of being seen as a freak, for telling the truth, even when I speak truthfully about simple matters. If a friend gives me a gift and asks me to tell him or her whether I like it, I will respond honestly and judiciously; that is to say I will speak the truth in a positive, caring manner. Yet even in this situation, the person who asks for honesty will often express annoyance when given a truthful response.”
“You can’t improve what you won’t face and own.”
“All a man can betray is his conscience.”
“My life of sin among people I’m sure he thinks are deviants is happier and more honest that his oppressive, sexist cesspool.”
“She felt that “truthful” and “honest” were two very different concepts. She could truthfully say that she hadn’t eaten Roselyn’s Chinese leftovers, but that wasn’t honest because it omitted that Eliot did and that Shane did not object.”
“Artists, especially writers, great writers, are the most honest people I know. There are deep confessions in their words. And if we re strong enough to expose the spaces between them, we find truths there also.”
“Honesty is the first chapter of the book wisdom.”
“The author describes Lincoln s attitude in making a deal with a newspaper publisher as, almost defiant transparency.”
“The man who believes that honesty is the best policy is not an honest man.”