The Cost of Honesty

I’ve been on hiatus because I was emotionally captivated with a question so fundamental to the underpinnings of social etiquette… what encumbers honesty?

Let’s ignore obvious outliers, i.e. those who have criminally manipulative behaviour like a robber intimidating others about a weapon they may or may not possess. I am referring to something more grounded, that pertains to the majority of hard working individuals.

I thought a lot about the environment and our social dynamics. Perhaps the incentives don’t make it conducive for honesty. Dishonesty is somewhat, socially acceptable. These days, it feels perfectly reasonable to be passive aggressive or lie by omission to be comfortable without significant consequences. There are even new fields of work and hobbies dedicated to facilitating illusionary truth.

Life moves so fast these days that it’s probably better to turn a blind eye. You can be dishonest about anything, no matter how small, and it will go unnoticed. Fueled by our rampant chronic inattentiveness, society’s myopia makes dishonesty literally vanish before our eyes.

The eyes of Doctor T. J. Eckleburg — The Great Gatsby

However, there is a far simpler reason; honesty comes with a cost that most people prefer dodging. It’s the risk of unmitigated isolation and loneliness. Yet, I’m beginning to realize that it’s also the very litmus test people truly desire. No matter how painful or shameful, honesty reveals who your friends and family are.

I think we are just afraid of whom it might be…

Word count: 234
Twitter: @bhavprajapati

52 | 250 (fifty two | two fifty), a collection of random, recurring, ruminations written with patience for depth and brevity. Each post is written over the course of a week in 250 words or less as a personal exercise of freedom and focus in a time of placid tumult and despair.