Intellectual Honesty

Do you have intellectual honesty? Do you know what it is? I apply it to a broader spectrum than just academic points of endeavor. I also look at intellectual honesty – or its absence – as pertaining to any time when an individual's reason must weigh facts.

Human beings (people) are SO subjective. Do you see through rose colored glasses? Darker ones? Does it depend on your mood? The time of the month? Whether someone was nice to you or mean to you or indifferent? How you were "enculturated" growing up? Like it or not, these can all significantly affect a person.

But when it comes to processing "The Truth" or let's just say information, how do you do it? Do you recognize your own biases? Do you know that your ability to approach objectivity can fluctuate based on how your energy level is, or what you feel? And that is the kicker.

As emotional beings, our feelings are broad ranging and subject to many influences. But I am not here to be an apologist or coddle anyone, because frankly, I am tired of what I see as people who are not "honest with the truth."

This is not to be "judgmental," but merely to judge the truth accurately. There is a world of difference.

When faced with a shortcoming or failure, how do you do? Do you sugar-coat it? Do you deny it? Do you turn tables and counter accuse, so as to divert attention from what you could acknowledge in yourself?

This is not a call to self-flagellate, but it is a call to be honest with yourself. Who but you and those you care about have more to gain?

And besides that, I believe in a truth-based life, or in a word, one with integrity.

Let me ask you: If faced with a statement that may make you uncomfortable or upset, but is factual about something or someone you care about, how do you accept that?

Like anyone else, I have not always accepted the truth gracefully, but really, I hate personal dishonesty. And ultimately, I cannot truck with someone who cannot face facts, and deal with what is true. I hate the tendency to "spin" something into something else with a prettier face, but an untrue heart.

If people could be more honest you would not have the rampant fraud we do these days. People would not be able to B.S. themselves into believing lying and stealing or misrepresenting is somehow good, or OK. Nor would you have as many people so at a loss for what to think when they see such misrepresentations.

Problem is, so many have an agenda and are ethically challenged. This is true of George Bush, Enron, Alan Greenspan, Oprah, all the spammers out there and who ever else.

A liberal view is to sugar-coat and excuse lying and misrepresentation and stress differences of opinion, or orientation, or shades of gray, and what have you. In some cases, this is true.

In others, we have forgotten how to call an ace and ace, and a spade a spade.

Intellectual honesty involves weighing facts and viewpoints, and arriving at the truth without dressing it up, shading it, spinning it ...

One example: Do you like to gamble at casinos? Why? Is it glamorous? Do you hope to get rich and not have to work? Are you secretly lazy? Do you believe you could cash in big, and say "screw you" to the world, or maybe be something more than you have been able to earn the honest way? These questions imply ugliness, and I am NOT NOT NOT saying all gamblers share these motivations, but – if we were honest – we might agree with some.

Maybe not all, but if the shoe fits, go ahead and put it on.

You see, maybe there is some ugliness or weakness in your soul – or mine. The question is, what do we do with it? Do we lie to ourselves and others? Do we create a false facade, put on airs, or do we squarely admit in our heart of hearts: "Yes, I am this way," or "Yes, I feel that way."

And beyond that: If we can see and acknowledge that which we consider a personal shortcoming (could be anything) do we settle and say "oh well," or do we repress or deny it, or can we face it head on as a characteristic we are willing to do what it takes to try and change?

What I am saying here is that gut-level honesty is the only way to live – or create a world, or at least influence our environment – in a way "worth having."

I link gut-level truth with quality of life. I do not believe in taking an easy way out, but I do believe taking the "high road," (what ever that may be in any example) and all honest work has its own rewards.

Gambling is just one random example. How about porn? Why is that so rampant? Why is that industry thriving? What unfulfilled needs are we not facing as people that leads us to compromise and look at that stuff?

Some would say it hurts no one. I could not agree less. It makes virtual prostitutes out of people. It rewards people for behavior that cannot bring true happiness. It can wreck lives, and it is a living lie. How long can you sustain a living lie?

I believe in sustainable living which is why intellectual honesty is not an option.

Anyone who does not prize the truth does not understand life, and lacks wisdom.

Wisdom is the ability to process "information" or knowledge and use it profitably and create greater good and harmony, not pain and suffering.

Yes, I know I am making inductive leaps. If you are wise, you may recognize the inherent truth of my summations.

As a nation, we excuse so many things. Look at Nixon. Is he now an elder statesman? "Trickie Dick" is now one of the great ones? OK, I believe in forgiveness, but he lied to us, as did Bill Clinton.

I fail to understand when I hear some people say, "Oh, I love Bill Clinton." (Unequivocally, unqualified, blanket endorsement).

To such people, his wrongdoings are completely forgotten and whitewashed as though they never happened. In fact, some secretly (or openly) admire him for his audacity and chutzpah. He "got off" on getting B!@w-jobs from Monica Lewinsky with the door to his office slightly ajar. The Secret Service looked the other way.

We nailed him for a while when it felt politically expedient or fun to do so, then we forgot it. Was he a great president?

How is it that instead of some of the worst wrongdoers among us "falling from grace," we reward them with a lucrative book contract, speaking tour, and their own reality TV show? Why do they get paid to show up on a talk show to tell it all?

As a society, we are rewarding dishonesty, and what is the lesson kids – who you can't kid – will learn? That honesty is NOT the best policy, and why bother? They learn nice guys finish last, and it's all about me, and so on!

Great. Let's see how long that lasts. Go ahead and violate laws of life, and see how long it lasts; how long will America last as the Land of the Free, and Home of the Brave. America the Beautiful ... The breadbasket to the world? We used to be so proud: Give me your poor, your tired, your hungry, your starving masses. ... Our forefathers and mothers made monuments to this, but today, we suffer from a mass guilt complex, and are ready to concede our world position for a reason: Every great empire that ever was, first fell from within.

I am so saddened by these things. I think we as people can do better. If this does not smack of the truth to you, disregard it. But if it does, read on...

I guess what I am saying is we are becoming self-indulgent people who judge each other on a sliding scale. We will stone to death someone who does or can do nothing for us – or simply not reply to their phone call or e-mail – but we will give the key to the city to a scoundrel, if in it, we also feel we have something to gain.

Too many among us do not judge or state things objectively, but in our self-interest as a species, we are as fickle as a Roman mob in the Coliseum when we decide thumbs up or down?

It depends on how we feel, not justice or truth, and this ought not to be so. And if you want it to change, it begins with personal choice...

Now I do not unequivocally accuse the entire human race of these traits, but – if YOU are intellectually honest – you will recognize these tendencies do exist – in too many cases.

Perhaps most blatantly do we see them in the world of "marketing." Today, misrepresentation in the form of exaggerated claims is the norm. And do we protest? Sort of. But "Truth in Advertising" rules are run roughshod over daily, and just like our kids in school, everyone and their sketchy claims are being graded on a curve.

The concept of being "honest with the truth" or intellectual honesty, as this post is titled, is applicable to every aspect of life and society in this country, as it is the whole world.

You see it in also in religion. Why DO you believe the things you do? Or not? Because you have made a thorough examination of all available data on the subject?

When it comes to matters of FAITH, your heart and its motives are revealed, as is your own personal integrity.

NOT believing in something – whether you have considered this or not – is as MUCH a matter of faith as believing it.

(I find it very interesting how many U.S. soldiers in Iraq believe in God, and open prayer is not discouraged ... it is because at any time any one of those people may have opportunity to find out if He really exists ... So – for some, not those who already believed – the thought might be "don't be caught on the wrong side." Hedge your bets, at least!)

On the other hand, I have no problem with a person who honestly believes differently than me, but – to whom it applies – why do you hate someone else or their God? Because your own conscience is tweaked, or they pose a challenge to your rule and way of life?

Do some people different from you just sort of stink, and you want nothing to do with them? How much have you tried to understand them? Are you even capable of that? Are you doing the best that you possibly can? If so, great. If not, do you care?

In literature, it is called fear of "The Other."

Why can we as people so easily hate people different from us? I find this especially disturbing and hypocritical in observing this trait exhibited by certain people. I speak of those who otherwise pride themselves on "celebrating diversity," or their mission statement of "inclusiveness," or whatever happy saying they use to boast that they are open minded.

Uh huh. Human nature has a way of exerting itself in spite of what we would like to believe is true, or in spite of what we can allow ourselves to be so proud of in our sometimes candy-coated self images.

I have seen this: People who pride themselves and openly declare to others in an inadvertent campaign of self-promotion that they are these big hearted souls. And I have seen them contradict their claims, and I realize some people just like to believe certain things because it makes them feel like bigger or better people than perhaps maybe they are.

We have all done it. No one is perfect, but an honest person could self-examine and call it for what it is. Personally, if I see myself doing it, I abhor it. I do not want to live a lie, but others seem to without ever waking up, but does this have to be the way it is?

If we could be more honest, we would realize that as people, we are so very subjective. This may sound caustic, but I say anyone who does not recognize this is self-deceived and in the process, therefore, attempting deceit on all people with whom they come in contact.

If you believe a lie, you live a lie, and are by definition living a false existence.

Sounds kinda harsh? I know many people are subject to innumerable personal challenges, and maybe not educated, or have experienced trauma, and who knows what else? This blog post does NOT contradict my belief in being kind and helping people graciously through their problems. I DO believe in the power of love and forgiveness, but I do NOT stand for willful denial, and deliberate self-deceit. I do not stand for an ethos or culture that is slipping into a murky netherworld of non-accountability. That is where I draw the line.

And in this generation of sugar-coating and grading on a curve; in this country where we now think foreigners will subsidize our ever-increasing debt and credit-based, consumer lifestyle, this might sound merciless. But am I wrong? If I am half wrong, or my slant is too harsh, or biased itself, is there any truth to what I say? Can you see it? If you can see what I am trying to say, great. Or – to whom it applies – will you deny it because you don't agree with my style or examples?

Anyway, truth lovers as I understand them don't make these distinctions, and wise people can learn even from fools and enemies – neither of which am I to you! Believe it or not, I write these things with care and peaceful intentions!

Al Gore does not have an exclusive perception of "inconvenient truth" (regardless whether you believe global warming is true or not). Truths not faced are innumerable, and facts of our daily lives.

If you think it through, the very fact that Al Gore can chronicle one alleged mass denial shows the we, as human beings, have this flawed tendency in ourselves. To those not inclined to want to agree with him, is it because you have made a thorough examination of all pertinent facts? Or have you jumped on the polarized political bandwagon of those who for what ever reason cannot agree with Al Gore?

There are daily things that we may find too tough to deal with, or that we will sweep under the rug, or spin away for political or social issue-based reasoning.

No matter where you stand on the belief of global warming, I think it is certainly true that in too many cases, we might allow ourselves to live with unresolved issues, or hold to untruths we inwardly know better about all of our lives. Perhaps we think we are doing the best we can, but are we? It's a tendency we should be on guard against, not glorify.

And in any case, I say these things with the thought that if you love someone, you tell them the truth as you believe it. So I am telling YOU – whoever you are reading this – from my heart to yours.

Sometimes the truth can hurt. Maybe that's why some avoid it. I can tell you for a fact that in flushing out my own personal "demons" it has not been easy. It can be a lonely thing standing for not sugar-coating or living a happy-go-lucky but self-deluded existence, but what can I say?

To thine own self be true. It's the only way to fly!