When you ask someone’s opinion, do you want the truth? Really? Honestly? And when you get an honest opinion that isn’t what you wanted to hear, do you believe it, dispute it or go off on the person that gave it?
I’m not sure how much real honesty exists anymore. It seems that anytime there are ways in place to monitor acts of integrity, we find that a whole lot of lying and cheating is going on — from cops, athletes, politicians, students and married people. With video tape, DNA tests, drug tests, lie detector tests, “Cold Case Files,” TMZ and the show, “Cheaters,” you would think that people would be if not more honest, more careful. But it just seems like most people subscribe to the belief that “it just won’t happen to them.”
Every police officer has to know that there’s a video camera in his squad car, so why wouldn’t he think that beating an unarmed suspect senseless would make the local news, CNN and YouTube? And after generations of seeing men getting jammed up with the question, “Does this outfit make me look fat?” this morning, some defenseless man will try to explain to his wife that he wasn’t trying to hurt her feelings when he honestly answered yes.
So it is it easier to lie and cheat and hope not to get caught or is honesty still the best policy?
Are you lying when you tell your C student that he can reach for the stars and become anything, from an astronaut to the president of the United States? Are you wrong when you tell your child that it doesn’t matter how poorly they perform on the field as long as they do their best? Should you teach your children that skin color doesn’t matter when you know it often does? As a mother, should you admit to your pre-teen daughter that you lost your virginity in middle school? Should a dad tell a son about his old drug habit? Or is it okay to tell a lie if you think the person you’re talking to isn’t ready for the truth?
All this comes up after a story about Mo’Nique, who says she changed her lifestyle when her husband commented about how much she weighed. In this case, his concern for her as she stepped on to the scale led to her handling her business and losing a lot of weight. But let me just say this to most couples out there: Don’t try this at home. It takes a special kind of relationship based on lots of love, trust and maturity in order for a story like this to have a happy ending.
Women, do you weigh yourselves in front of your mate? Men, if your women do weigh themselves in front of you, do you feel it’s safe to share your true feelings?
Can you handle knowing how many men your wife was with before you came along? Women, do you lie about how much money you spend shopping or hide clothes in the trunk of your car?
What’s your reality when you come face-to-face with the truth? Check out our “For Real, For Real” poll and holla at me on BlackAmericaWeb, Facebook, Twitter or text me at OhOhOh (646464).
