SLC-S24/W6 - Powerful Debate | Yes or no/ pros and cons

So tell me, have you ever paused to wonder how well someone can manage the information they hear about you?

Let's say someone pretty close to you knows your deepest secrets and weakness, how will they respond to it?

Will they treat you with contempt?

Will they pull away?

Or will the friendship continue without strain?

Today, I'd discuss why honesty is not always the best policy.

---

HONESTY IS ALWAYS THE BEST POLICY IN RELATIONSHIPS. NO!

_{Cover image. PHOTO CREDIT: Canva}

Growing up, my parents believed in speaking the truth always. They encouraged my siblings and I to always “let our ‘yeah’ be ‘yeah’, and ‘nay’, ‘nay’. Anything contrary to this lacked virtue.

Do you agree?

Of course, I did. Until I met a colleague in school who faced extreme discrimination for just being honest.

For three years, we've known him to be a “jolly good fellow”. Down-to-earth. Peaceful to a fault. Always giving. Everloving.

A sweet-lovely soul who met his waterloo when he disclosed to his friends that he was “agnostic”.

Prior to that time, he had never challenged our beliefs. In fact, he sang along to our songs. Spoke about our faith with reverence.

The only thing was that he neither believed nor disbelieved in the existence of a God or Gods. The guy was plainly neutral.

No love. No hate.

Never debated or questioned anyone's belief.

His truth was greeted with disdain.
_{Guys sitting together. PHOTO CREDIT: Canva}

For weeks, some of his supposed “friends” treated him like some plague.

Some ridiculed him in secret. While others called him hurtful names in public.

It got so much that the once friendly and social butterfly crawled into his shell. He avoided people generally. Very few people wanted to hang around him anyway.

But do you think he was right to disclose his honest view?

For one, there are certain things one shouldn't be opinionated about in public.

Even though Article 18 of the UDHR, Article 1 of the ICCPR and Article 8 of the African Charter on Human and People’s Rights provide that:

Every person is entitled to freedom of thought, conscience and religion…

It remains a known fact that not all thoughts are widely accepted, particularly issues related to religion, politics and other sensitive matters.

As such, it is best to stay neutral.

At the workplace, in the media and in schools, many prefer to communicate these sensitive thoughts in a diplomatic way.

Some avoid talking about it all together to avoid being misinterpreted like in my colleague's case.

Would you say it was fair for my colleague to be treated that way?

I felt empathetic towards him. No one deserves to be treated unfairly. But we have seen worse happen when people disclose sensitive information about themselves.

Many have lost their lives in the process of being blunt. Some have lost job opportunities because they choose to give a dose of the bitter truth.

It is for this reason that I opine that honesty is not always the best policy. Some truths should never be told.

PS This does not encourage lies. Rather, it advocates for the need to remain diplomatic when discussing sensitive issues.

Do you agree with me on this?