Do you agree or disagree with the following statement: Always telling the truth is the most important consideration in any relationship. Use specific reasons and examples to support your answer.
The traditional virtue of telling the truth in all situations is increasingly doubted by many people in today’s world. Many believe that telling the truth is not always the best policy when dealing with people. Moreover, the line of a “truth” is becoming much vaguer. In my opinion, I agree with the statement, even there are some advantages of telling a lie. This essay will explore the influence of telling the truth to relationships between people.
We all understand that often the truth is offending and may not be a very nice thing to both hearer and speaker. Lies or white lies often have their advantages, especially in this industrializing world. The manipulation of white lies is the most obvious in the world of business. How many times have we heard that some product is “the finest” or “the cheapest”? How many times have we heard about products that have such “magical functions”? Advertising is about persuasion, and many would agree that if a company is willing to tell the absolute truth about its products, no one would be interested in even having a look at them.
This principle applies logically to the relationship between human. A ruthless truth about something may severely hurt your friends’ mind and soul. For example, when you go to a friend’s birthday, your friend asks you about whether her dress is beautiful or not. Will you point to her dress and say that: “This is the ugliest dress I have ever seen?” If you do so, it means you spoil her birthday and it is a very ruth, impolite saying. Sometimes, a white lie can make a person feels happy about him and the relationship. Confrontation and disputes may be avoided.
However, there is always the risk factor of the truth emerging sooner or later when telling an untruth. The basic trust in any relationships (businessman/customer, friends, parents /children) will be blotched, and would have an impact on the future relationship between both parties. No one will believe you when you’re telling the truth again after lying. Your word will have no weight and no person will hear you that time.
In addition, the other disadvantage of telling lie is that you will no control when the truth emerges. Everyone will hate you and in the next time, when you tell the truths, they will not believe you anymore. For example, you got an F in your Mathematic test; you told to your mom that you got an A in that test. After a long time, when the truth emerges, your mom will not believe you anymore when you tell the truth. Untruths breed pains in both parties: tears when the truth is uncovered after a period of time; fear and the burden of sharing a “secret”. In the long run, it seems that hiding the truth is not beneficial to either party.
Everyone hates betrayal. Even if it is the trend to occasionally hide the truth in relationships, it is strongly recommended that not to follow that trend as the risk and the consequences of the truth unfolded overwhelms the minimal advantages one can derive from not to tell the truth. After all, it is understood that relationships are founded on “trust” which goes hand in hand with “truth”. Indeed, telling the truth is always the most important consideration in any relationship between people.