Here is a very short test.
Question No. 1:Do you always tell the truth? Answer yes or no.
Question No. 2: Are you careful not to hurt the feelings of others? Answer yes or no.
End of test.
If you have answered yes to both questions, and if you permit some stretching of the definition, you have just created an oxymoron. Two contradictory statements. Don’t believe me? Try this on for size. “Honey, does this dress make me look too fat?”
Guys will tell you that the answer to that questions is always no. Always! (However, there are times when you might suggest she wear something more flowing, less formal, more comfortable.)
Is this honesty at work or is it survival?
Of course I always tell the truth, but I’m not stupid, either. Besides, telling little white lies is not really lying, it’s a manifestation of caring. Isn’t it?
We tend to go through life as experts in telling little white lies instead of dealing honestly with each other and telling the truth at all times. There, an oxymoron I can live with!
Ray Singer