Do you agree or disagree with the following statement? Always telling the truth is the most important consideration in any relationship between people. Use specific reasons and examples to support your answer.

Honesty is by no means one of the most essential characters cherished in all cultures. Some may bring this standard to an extreme that it’s only right if we always tell the truth in any situation. However, does this contention hold in real life? I would argue, from the perspective of social interaction, honesty does not apply to all situations.

Humans are social animals. Every one inevitably responds to others numerous times a day. Among all the conversations and chats, a large proportion is merely for socializing or being polite; So small lies out of courtesy are preferable. As when your colleague meets you in the hallway, cheerfully asking you to notice her new shirt, some compliment will brighten her day with no harm to anyone. Alternatively, by sticking to your rule of always being honest and saying, “it looks very ugly on you because your skin is so dark,” you are jeopardizing your relationships.

Besides the small lies in daily social interaction, sometimes people also need to tell big lies in consideration of others’ feelings. Because truths are sometimes painful, always exposing our loved ones to the unacceptable reality may not be the optimal choice. In a movie depicting turbulent wartime, a father together with his son was held in a death camp and soon to be killed. Instead of telling his son the facts, the father deceived his son that all the tortures were indeed a game with the soldiers. The son spent an exciting time in the death camp, exempted from trauma from fear owing to this beautiful lie.

Still, some people argue that we should avoid even white lies, for that we should respect other people’s rights of access to the truth and deciding on their own. Granted, this argument makes some sense, if they could still make efforts to improve their situations. However, in most cases, knowing the truth contributes nothing but burdens on the knowers, destroying the knowledge they used to live by; like when you tell your colleague that her skin is dark and ugly.

In conclusion, honesty matters in most, but not all cases. Some lies may flavor our social life.

Honesty is by no means one of the most critical characters cherished in all cultures. Some may bring this standard to an extreme that it’s only right if we always tell the truth in any situation. Yet, does this contention hold in real life? I would argue, from the perspective of social interaction, honesty does not apply to all conditions.
Humans are social animals. Every one inevitably responds to others many times a day. Among all the conversations and chats, a large proportion is merely for socializing or being polite. So small lies out of courtesy are preferable. As when a colleague meets you in the hallway and draws your attention to her new shirt, some compliment will brighten her day with no harm to anyone. Or, you could stick to your rule of always being honest and say, “it looks ugly on you because your skin is so dark.” Then you are jeopardizing your relationships.
Besides the small lies in daily social interaction, sometimes people also need to tell big lies. Because truths could be painful. always exposing our loved ones to the unacceptable reality may not be the optimal choice. In a movie depicting turbulent wartime, a father, together with his son, was held in a death camp. Instead of telling the facts, the father deceived his son that the tortures were a game with the soldiers. The son spent an exciting time in the death camp, exempted from trauma from fear owing to this beautiful lie.
Still, some people argue that we should avoid even white lies. They believe that we should respect others’ rights to know and make decisions. Admittedly, this argument makes some sense if they could still make efforts to improve their situations. However, in most cases, knowing the truth contributes nothing but burdens on the knowers. It even destroys the knowledge they used to live by, like when you tell your colleague that her skin is dark and ugly.
In conclusion, honesty matters in most, but not all cases. Some lies may flavor our social life.