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what is honest and what is dishori–
est? How should we learn to be
open, reliable, sincere, disposed
always to tell the truth?
Or
should
we always tell the
truth?
Is there ever a time when lying,
deceiving, exaggerating or with–
holding information is best?
A Skeptical World
Trust, sincerity, candor and reli–
ability seem rare today. As one
writer said, "To be honest, as this
world goes, is to be one man picked
out of ten thousand."
Author Adrienne Popper related
that her parents had given her her
concept of honesty when she was a
child. She remembered in particu–
lar the story of Abraham Lincoln,
who, when working as a store clerk,
had walked a few miles to return a
penny he had overcharged some–
one.
" When 1 was a child, one of my
favorite bedtime stories described
'Honest Abe'," she commented. "1
understood the importance of being
honest, for 1 could sense the
approval in my father's voice as he
read me this and other moral
tales.
"When 1 read the fondly remem–
bered tale of young Abe to my son
not long ago, his reaction differed
widely from mine.
"'Miles to return a penny!' he
exclaimed. 'What a dope! He
should have kept it. He could have
Iied and said he found it.' "
Children in general today do not
grow up hearing about " Honest
Abe" Lincoln, but about govern–
ment scandals and other unrighted
injustices. They are attracted to
Dalias'
J.R. Ewing, one of televi–
sion's prime examples of corrupted
power.
Dishonesty, injustice and corrup–
tion , of course, extend beyond the
personal leve! into national leader–
ship and government. A recent sur–
vey showed that Americans do not
think it possible to have a govern–
ment almost wholly free of corrup–
tion.
And why shouldn't they think
that way, what with revelations of
dishonesty and wrongdoing in gov–
ernment and business?
1 have a close personal friend, an
editor of the Spanish edition of
The
12
Plain Truth ,
who carne to the
United States from a major South
American country where he form–
erly owned a business. 1 say "form–
erly" because high taxation in the
country forced him to give up the
business. The government, says my
friend, knows that most citizens
will cheat on their taxes, so the gov–
ernment raises taxes to unbearable
levels to gain the mínimum revenue
required. My friend simply could
not pay what the government said
he owed and stay in business. And
he chose not to be dishonest.
My friend's brother, still a resi–
dent of the country, received a cer–
tain inheritance from his father. He
faithfully reported the inheritance
to the government, which promptly
claimed more than half of it in
taxes. Wbat was even more shock–
ing, though, was the reaction of his
friends and neighbors. Most of
them ridiculed him and sorne even
became angry with him because he
had been so "stupid" as to tell the
government the truth.
This was certainly not the spirit
of Simon Bolívar, called the "Lib–
erator of South America." Bolívar
refused to use government money
to provide benefits for himself and
avoided using his power to gain
personal influence or advantage.
He wrote: "There is no human
power that can ob}jge me to accept
a gift that my conscience refuses."
What can the individual do to
cope in a mostly dishonest world,
when even government, theoretical–
ly the protector of personal rights,
does not expect to be trusted?
How is honesty to be learned in
such societies?
Some Do Learn Honesty
Psychologists say that no one can
be labeled totally honest or totally
dishonest. Rather, honesty is a con–
tinuum upon which all of us fall,
sorne closer to the honest end and
sorne closer to the dishonest end.
l have another friend who, on a
visit to one of the Arab countries,
had a taxi driver carry him sorne
little distance. When he gave the
driver a gratuity above the price of
the ride, the driver refused the tip.
My friend insisted, grateful for the
service the driver had offered. Only
reluctantly did the driver accept
the tip, and then he lowered the
price of the ride the exact amount
of the t ip!
Can you imagine this scen e
occurring in London or París or
New York?
China Daily
recently reported
that nearly 10,000· people were
thronging a Chinese department
store in the northeastern city of
Changchun when the lights went
out. Nothing was stolen! People
holding goods when the blackout
occurred handed them back to staff
members. Others lit candles or vol–
unteered to help keep order. Bank
notes totaling the equivalent of
US$80,000 were lying out in a bank
branch in the store, but not one was
stolen. Store employees com–
mented, "The store was blacked
out, but the customers were a shin–
ing example of honesty."
Turn out the lights in New York
City for a few hours and notice the
different result you will achieve!
Sorne learn honesty, while others
don't. Why?
The Process of Moral Development
The whole problem of how the
human conscience develops- of
how different individuals or groups
acquire orientations toward one
moral action or another- has been
much debated by psychologists,
sociologists, even theologians. The
process begins in earliest chi ldhood.
Research has produced sorne inter–
esting implications for parents and
teachers. As they grow older, chil–
dren will basically retain the sense
of moral judgment they acquired
early, unless major experiences later
alter their viewpoints.
Studies have identified four
major levels of moral orientation in
child development:
1) At the first leve!, the very
young child has
little or no control
over his or her own actions.
lf
the
child is about to put a hand into a
flame, the parent must intervene.
If
the child reaches for an object on a
store shelf, the parent must inter–
vene. The child cannot judge any
better.
2) At the second leve!, the 2-year–
old child begins to identify, at least
hazily, a difference between actions
to be considered wrong and actions
to be considered right through a sys–
tem of
rewards and punishments.
The child learns that if he spills his
The PLAIN TRUTH