To be honest,

As this world goes,

Is to be the one man

Picked out of ten thousand.

— Shakespeare, Hamlet, II, 2

It was Diogenes of ancient Greece who walked the Earth with a lit lantern at night, plus trodding all day with that same lantern, in pursuit of one honest man. It was an exercise in futility, for alas, every man has his price, every man has his weakness, every man has his breaking point.

Now you’re going to say, “But I am honest, I would never knowingly do anything wrong or accept a bribe from anyone.” But that’s where you’re wrong, for it has been said, and proven, that every man has a number which he will accept. Yours may just be very high, that’s all, but in for a penny, in for a pound, the crime is just the same.

Sometimes honesty isn’t only the act of commission, but also the act of omission. If you were asked to go to the bathroom, look the other way while an illegal act is being done, you’re still as guilty as if you did it yourself. “Listen man, a million dollars will be deposited to your account if you’re just absent from your post at midnight.”

Now, you may say that you didn’t really do anything, but even by omission and not commission, it makes you dishonest. You may also refuse that million dollars, but if they upped the ante to $10 million then you may start to think.

So even by doing nothing, but allowing a dishonest act to occur, makes you culpable also. So honestly, that’s what we’ll examine today: Honesty — its implications, its pros and cons, and if it still exists — right after these responses to ‘Don’t look, don’t touch, don’t speak’.

Hi Tony,

The times are a changing and not necessarily for the better. Men who inappropriately touch women should be scolded, but there are different degrees of those transgressions. A simple touch on the arm or shoulder should not merit the same punishment as those who touch a woman’s bottom or breasts without her consent. Then there are those women who dress scantily with the intent to trap a man, perhaps of means, into touching her inappropriately so as to relieve him of his means. To paraphrase the scriptures, touch not, lest ye be judged.

Errol

Anthony,

Most of us during our younger days got involved with women — good, bad, exciting, heartbreaking. Now there are many powerful, wealthy, famous men facing hardship and downfall because of their youthful exuberance. Don’t you think that it’s time for us to form a group protecting ourselves, so that when we reach our senior years we can rest in peace without our name being tarnished? The sexual harassment law should have a time frame so that women can’t sue after 20 years or more.

Thein

Does honesty really pay, or is it simply something of the past that has been swept under the carpet along with morality, integrity, chivalry and loyalty? I won’t even touch those today, but focus on honesty only.

What is honesty? I guess it’s doing the right thing, telling the truth, not stealing, not ripping anybody off, and a few other intangible acts that weave into our moral fibre. But is honesty practical, is it overrated, is it relevant in today’s society?

I have asked this question of many people, “If you were driving along and saw a bag of cash fall out of an armoured truck, would you pick it up and not report it?” Well, almost everyone said they would keep the cash, and when I pointed out that it was wrong, I was mildly ridiculed and even chastised by some folks. “You wouldn’t take the money? You a fool, that money insured.”

In the same way, if you were walking along and saw someone drop money without knowing, would you pick it up and give it back to them? Maybe that money was to pay their doctor bill, child’s school fee, rent, or something important that meant a lot to them.

Yet the saying, ‘Finders keepers, losers weepers’, sprang to the minds of many people who I asked. This happens frequently when trucks laden with goods such as cement, chicken, farm produce, hardware items or liquor happen to crash and overturn on the road.

What the news clip shows is a horde of people who seem to come from nowhere, even in a lonely rural area, descending on the wreckage like vultures and removing whatever they can without fear or shame of being seen. I have seen such scenes, with people covered from head to foot in white cement dust or flour as they retrieve those items from the scene of the crash. They immediately turned a crash scene into a crime scene.

And yet no one thinks of themself as being dishonest. “No sah, is the Lord provide for us why the truck crash right here.”

“Is time we get back something from the big man who always a profit from us poor people.”

Then there is also the argument that honesty doesn’t pay. “Imagine, the little boy return a bag full of money, over a million, and all the man give him as reward is one thousand dolla… wicked.”

Honesty isn’t only about not stealing tangible goods, but also the intangibles. Stories are rife about people who cheat on exams, and in fact, in some countries this dishonesty has reached epic proportions. These acts have been done by students who don’t necessarily see themselves as being dishonest, but rather just smart enough to beat the system.

So they cheat on the exam, pass with flying colours, get a great job, then go about life teaching others about honesty, moral fibre and integrity. Even at the workplace honesty takes a beating, as employers shortchange workers, and conversely workers often rip off employers by not doing the requisite work for the pay.

They arrive late, do very little work, leave early, yet demand a full day’s pay. That’s dishonest. They say that they replaced the old car parts with new, but really did nothing. They recalibrate the scales to show that the goods weigh more. Dishonesty comes in many forms.

Collecting taxes meant for government and not paying it over is dishonest, and so is padding travelling expenses or food vouchers. Telling lies on your resume to get that job is dishonest. “PhD, PhD? The only P that man have is inna him pants. Him don’t even have two CXC subject.” Plagiarism is also dishonest, as people steal the writings of others.

And yet, if you ask those persons guilty of those transgressions they don’t see themselves as being dishonest. Stealing light from the power grid is dishonest, as is stealing water from the water commission. Yet those acts are justified, for the rationale is, “Times are hard and we can’t afford it, and we haffi survive.”

The irony is, those transgressions are done more by the wealthy ‘big persons’ than by the ‘small man’. The figures actually prove that. The big man doesn’t throw up wires, but has sophisticated methods of extracting power illegally.

The fact is, honesty is absolute, not relative; there are no degrees of honesty. If you find a dollar and do not return it, or find 10 million and keep it, it’s still the same. Taking stationary, pencils, food from the workplace is being dishonest.

As for cheating on your spouse, is that dishonest? That’s why it’s called cheating, yet most people do not see it as being dishonest. “Is just a little piece mi take, a nuh nutten.” On a personal note, I think that I’d prefer to be accused of assault, if I had to defend myself, rather than dishonesty such as lying. But for some people, dishonesty is a way of life. They lie, dem tief, they scam, they cheat without even a second thought.

I ask again, would you turn a blind eye to a transgression if offered US$10 million just to go to the bathroom while someone hacks into the company computer? Hmm, honesty… honestly?

More time.

seido1@hotmail.com

Footnote: Travelling is no fun anymore, and I only do so when it’s absolutely necessary. Apart from the long lines at the airports for security checks, taking off shoes, belts and dentures, (I’m told) there is also the task of getting the visas. The USA visa is pretty strict, but the UK visa is no walk in the park either. They ask for almost everything, except your DNA.

They need your parents’ names, place and date of birth, maiden names, etc. They need the name, place and dates of places where you’ve worked, down to the exact day that you started the job. They also ask for all of your travel history over the past years, including the exact day, month and year that you travelled. So if you plan to travel to some regions of the world, be prepared to supply extremely in-depth information.