One in Ten Thousand

On Fridays, I plan to highlight a particular virtue. Enjoy this first Friday.

"To be honest, as this world goes, is to be one man picked out of ten thousand." - Shakespeare: Hamlet

Who would you classify as honest? Who is the most honest person you know? Have you considered what honesty really is?

Webster defines honesty as "refraining from lying, cheating, stealing; being truthful, trustworthy, or upright; sincerity; fairness; straightforwardness."

Did you read that definition? I don't think I know anyone who is honest, myself included. I know people who strive for honesty (I would include myself in that camp too), but I don't know anyone who is truly honest, or do I?

Honesty is an amorphous term. It can be narrowly or broadly defined, and an individual's honesty can easily be compared to those who are less honest as a way of self-justification.

But is there really an honesty spectrum? Can you be 80% honest and 20% a liar and still call yourself honest? (That would seem dishonest to me.) What if you're 51% honest and 49% not? What about 99% honest and 1% not? What if you only tell the truth when questioned, but don't voluntarily disclose information until you're pressed for it? Do you have to commit the act of dishonesty or can you be dishonest by omission?

I think we have to admit that honesty is an all or nothing proposition, otherwise it's not honesty. It might be something else, but it's not honesty. This makes us uncomfortable. We desire to be honest, but we recognize that we fall short of the mark - often. Many days I'm full of...well, let's just say I'm full of myself. We all are, which is why I don't know anyone who is completely and totally honest in an all or nothing kind of way.

BUT...

I do know a lot of people that I trust, which is weird given that I don't know anyone who is honest. Have you thought about that? How do I trust individuals, when I fully recognize that we're all dishonest? I think I know the answer. I trust people's intentions, even if they fail in their actions. That allows me to see the best in full blown liars if I believe them to be striving for honesty.

Here's what I propose: Let's all strive to be a bit more honest today, while grading others not on their achievement of honesty, but on their attempt. I think we'll all be a bit more honest and will see a lot more honesty in others around us.

Today you can be Hamlet's one in ten thousand. So can I, and we can choose to see the best in those around us.