Topic: Is honesty always the best policy?HonestyShould we always tell the truth? Is telling the truth at all times the best option? Consider a person who is a. This person is likely to have a good reputation and enjoy the trust of others. Plus, he will never be caught lying. On the other hand, consider both the act of lying and the person lying. Lying is defined as “believing or thinking one thing and consciously expressing another” (Shibles). We lie by expressing something other than what we think or believe. Lies can be told for a variety of reasons. The first reason is to hide the truth. A person may obscure the truth to maintain good relationships with others, to avoid hurting their feelings, and/or to protect innocent people from harm such as torture or death. Other reasons are to hurt or deceive someone, to be funny, or to develop some sort of reputation. If a person lies and their lie is discovered, they risk losing the trust and respect of others. Getting them back might be difficult, if not impossible, because people deceived by the liar will be reluctant to trust the liar again. Therefore, in all the cases mentioned above, except when it comes to protecting an innocent person from harm, being honest is always the best option. Lying to save people from a fate they do not rightly deserve, for example to protect an innocent person about to serve prison time for murder, is a noble and righteous reason to lie. Other reasons to lie aren't as righteous or noble, so honesty is the best option. Two of the reasons a person might lie include maintaining good relationships with others and not hurting their feelings. For example, before leaving, it is considered polite in society to thank the hosts and the host...... middle of paper ......r, or imprisonment. Imagine a person being subjected to such a fate because of their religion, for example the Jews during the Holocaust. For all other cases, being honest is the best option because it eliminates a person's fear of their lie being discovered and promotes trust between people. Work cited Alchin, Linda. “Anne Frank Timeline.” Dates and events. Np, and Web. April 18, 2014. Davoudian, Shiva. "II. California Homicide Law: The Basics." Loy. LAL Rev. 36 (2003): 1383, 1391. Web. April 18, 2014. .Shibles, Warren. “A review of the definition of lying as a lie told with the intent to deceive.” Argumentation, 2.1 (1988): 5. Web. April 18 2014.