We Should Set an Example of Honesty for Our Children

"Honesty is the fastest way to prevent a mistake from turning into a failure."

-James Altucher

#freespeechmatters 23.12.2021

As the end of another year approaches, and I inch closer to my inevitable fate, I’ve been thinking a lot lately about growing up. Growing up means holding your tongue when not doing so can leave a negative impact. Growing up means substituting honesty with dishonesty when other people’s feelings are at stake. Growing up means saying ‘yes’ when you really want to just lay in bed all day. Growing up is basically about becoming more inauthentic.

As a child, I remember never being afraid to challenge authority. Now, when the opportunity arises, I have a million thoughts that run through my mind: Will this cost me my job? Is saying this really worth my relationship? Will this just cause for a longer, unwanted conversation that consumes more of my already limited time? Even as an advocate for free speech, I find myself self-censoring multiple times daily.

Consider the world we would live in if everybody was direct and abandoned the sweet talking. It may appear harsh at first, but we would cut out so much nonsense and be able to arrive at solutions much quicker. We wouldn’t have to say things that are untrue just to make others feel better. We would be more inclined to offer advice or point directly to the factor that is causing their negative emotions.

“Honesty is the best policy,” is honestly a lie we tell children to compel them to tell the truth. As we get older, we learn quickly that honesty has its time and place in social settings. You wouldn’t go to your friend’s mom’s funeral talking about how much you hated her. Instead, you would reflect on any good memories you’ve had with her, even if some had to be fabricated. If you hated your boss, you would certainly spare their feelings in exchange for your paycheck, especially if your job puts food on your table.

I have been so concerned with mainstream media censors, Big Tech censors, and government censors that I haven’t really considered the fact that I’m my greatest censor of all. I started this blog in hopes that I could be honest with you guys and engage in constructive conversations that get deeper into the issues than where the mainstream will go. Every day I write this blog, I consider what type of feedback I’m going to receive. I don’t want to embarrass my family with my views. I certainly don’t want to lose my job because I’m opinionated. But I desperately think if we don’t start being honest with each other, we’re not going to know what honesty looks like in the future.