So I went to Oktoberfest on Saturday night. It was fun, but we didn't stay very long. Just long enough to get full on German food and drink quite a few German beers. We didn't visit any exhibits or anything though.

Originally I had made a note I had made a note to blog about honesty, and whether or not is really is the best policy. The problem is that I cannot recall why I made the note, so I'll just shoot from the hip. There are no lessons to be learned here and there is nothing to prove, its just a quick, simple analysis.

Should you ALWAYS tell the truth?

I'm sure that if asked, most people would probably answer yes, but secretly inside they know that is not the real answer, which in and of itself, contradictory. If your wife or girlfriend asks if her clothes make her look fat, men will probably lie. If a parent asks a child, if they broke a vase or whatnot, they will probably lie. If a criminal is on trial and they want to avoid jail, they will probably lie. I would wager that in most scenarios where the end result will be some sort repercussion when the truth is told, but only minimal risk involved when lying, that human beings would simply lie, and then justify the lie to themselves later, or never put much thought into it after the fact. It seems to me that lying is the norm, and that truly honest people are the exception.

I may one of these exceptions. I lead a fairly simple life. I go to work, do my thing, play hockey, hang out, etc... I appear to be able to go through my day to day activities not getting into scenarios where lying is even remotely necessary. The people I know consider me to be brutally honest. I see no point in beating around the bush. I am a cut to the chase kind of guy. Why waste time with this or that, when I can pretty much process everything into some sort of end game on the fly?

I would wonder what would happen if I were put into a scenario where there was minimal risk associated with lying, but heavy consequence with the truth. I wonder if I would lie. I suppose it depends on how severe the consequence. I have not needed to lie in any way shape or form about anything I suppose in well over a decade, so I may be so out of practice, that I couldn't even if I wanted to.

What if the tables were turned, and instead of negative consequence for lying, there was a gain, whether it be financial or otherwise? What if you went to a restaurant and when paying the bill, the cashier was about to give you your change, and then she asked, "oh, you paid me with a hundred didn't you?", when in reality you had only paid with a $20? You stand to gain a handsome profit if you lie and say yes. Would you lie and take the money? Would I? Would it be considered stealing? Maybe there is a law concerning capitalizing on someone else mistakes, I am not sure.

I am not a religious person, so any Judeo-Christian ethics type stuff is right out the door, but we do live in a society where people are expected to behave in a particular manner, and if everyone abandoned these unwritten rules, chaos would ensue, which would probably get old after a week or two. I don't know.