Honesty is always important

Hyorim Kim
March 29 2010
RD3

Honesty is always important


One of my favorite stories is George Washington and a cherry tree. When George Washington was six years old, he visited to a smithy. He found a really nice little hatchet and he brought it to home. Like other kids, young George Washington wanted to try the hatchet. He found a beautiful English cherry tree in his house garden and he cut down the tree. However, the tree was his fathers’ favorite. After founding the tree, George Washington’s father really got angry. His father asked him “George, do you know who killed my beautiful tree in the garden?” despite of fear, he confessed what he did. The anger on his father’s face was gone and he told that “My son, that you should not be afraid to tell the truth is more to me than a thousand trees.” This story represents how honesty is important and beautiful thing. I also impressed how George Washington’s father responded his son’s truthiness. [THESIS] Honesty is the most important ethical values in our lives. Especially, honesty has to be the fundamental component that parents and leaders must possess since they have a great responsibility to own their people. [THESIS]


We well know that how can we act to be an ethical and honest person, such as not to lie to others. However, sometime, depend on situations, people’s opinion is varied about lying. For example, although a person has the information that others need, if he remains silent when others are asking a question does he lie? Many people think that he is not lying, he has a right to do, the Fifth Amendment. However, my opinion is a little different. Edward Lee states that not answering a question when you know the answer is considered lying because you're lying about your knowledge of the question and feigning ignorance. Keeping silent is still one of communicative ways, it could be caused misunderstandings by other people. To be honest, what we say and what we do are the same or not we deviate from honesty. Because of such reason, honesty is the most rudimentary element to be a parent and leader.


Wes Hanson introduces six standards of ethics, called the “Six pillars,” In his book the “Making Ethical Decisions. The six pillars are trustworthiness, respect, responsibility, fairness, caring, and citizenship. Every components have to be considered by people equally but depends on people’s position some ethical factors are more valuable among the “Six pillars.” For example, honesty and responsibility are the most important factor to parents, while caring and responsibility are more worth to leaders in business.


Because of Confucianism, we have a number of saying related to being parents in Korea. The most well known saying is “parents are the mirrors that reflect their children’s behavior.” In other words, parents are the role model of their children. I have worked at mental clinic center as an art therapist. Parents brought their kids that considered as abnormal behaviors such as lying all the times and violence. However, eventually, in the end of the therapy, most of parents have contributed their kids’ unfavorable behaviors. Simply, seven-year old child tell lies always to his or her parents, friends, and teachers, where does lies come from? Children learn from their parents. Indeed, there is a new research about parental lying done by University of Toronto and the University of California, San Diego. If parents are regularly lying to their child, it causes children’s misbehaviors and damaging feelings. ( 2009 ) Parents have responsibilities for their children because only honest parents can bear honest kids. Parents are the leader of a house and their children, the role of leader is very important not only in house but also business.


Leaders in a company are greatly related to ethical issues such as caring and responsibility because they provide products that people use. The product could be food, toys or cars. If they ignore caring and responsibility for people using their goods, company would lose customers’ trust and be in a big danger. Recently, we had a big new about Toyota recall. Until the recall issued, Toyota Company had a good business image that they produce reliable cars. First time when I received the new, I thought the problem was simply a defective part of cars. However, by chance, I have read a magazine about a piece of interesting article Toyota recalls. Early in 2006, one of employees of Toyota warned the significant safety problem in a number of cars to his boss. Although Toyota Company knew that the widow electronic system could cause problems, they ignored due to the cost-cutting plan and the name of competition. I was very impressed what the employee said four years ago that “become a great problem that involves the company's survival.”


The one of most important ethical values is honesty. Being honest is always is valuable both in home and work place. In house, parents are the role model of their children. When parents keep honesty in how they act and speak, they can raise healthy children mentally. Children learn how they behave through copying their parents. Parents have a responsibility to their kids’ ethic problems. Today many of companies are dealing with either quality or quantity. According to severe competitions in industry, some companies tend to chose quantity rather than quality. Leaders of a company must understand that when they are producing a product and take care users and their responsibility of their product. When leaders lost their honesty, it causes significant dilemmas to their people and business. We do not consider hiding honesty, but we always consider hiding lies and unethical issues. Especially, parents and leaders are required full of honesty because they never hide their lies or unethical issues because there is always someone can be affected by them and eventually not being honesty will be exposed in the air.



Works cited

Hanson,Wes. “Making Ethical Decsions.” Joesphson Institute. [http://josephsoninstitute.org/MED/index.html]

DeMello, January, “Discussion 1 (March 18)” Online posting. 17 March 2010. Laulima Discussion. 27 March 2010 [https://laulima.hawaii.edu/portal/site/KAP.33517.201030/page/c2a89a6c-a93e-47dd-b419-873ef93bb50f]

Lee, Edward, “Discussion 2 (March 18)” Online posting. 17 March 2010. Laulima Discussion. 27 March 2010 [https://laulima.hawaii.edu/portal/site/KAP.33517.201030/page/c2a89a6c-a93e-47dd-b419-873ef93bb50f]

University of Toronto. "Lies My Parents Told Me: Parents Use Deception To Influence Their Children." ScienceDaily 23 September 2009. 27 March 2010 [http://www.sciencedaily.com¬ /releases/2009/09/090922132844.htm]