HAS HONESTY LOST ITS PLACE IN OUR COUNTRY? By Joshua Francis There is in political and public life a degree of gamesmanship and bluff which is frankly necessary and relatively harmless. But that is far removed from the perceived deception that has emerged in our country. There is a growing sense and evidence that lies and deception in public life are taking a greater strong- hold in our society. Over the past months, we have heard of all kinds of allegations of corruption and dishonesty surrounded by secrecy and deception in our public life, yet only a small section of our population demands answers, clarity and transparency. Is it that Dominicans are increasingly more prepared to overlook dishonesty or permit a culture in which honesty and truth are not placed at the top of the values pyramid? The question as to whether honesty is still important is a fundamental one for each of us. It may well be the case that we have not abandoned truth and honesty in its entirety but we have replaced it with a number of convenient versions: ‘half-truth’ – where we provide only a portion of the facts or evidence in order to mislead or deceive while trying to give credibility to the story. ‘selective truth’ – where we seek to be honest or truthful in certain matters but not in others, ‘self-truth’ – this is where ‘one believes it to be true, therefore it is true’ without trying to understand, analyse or even apply common logic or common sense to the proposition being put forward (in one sense, this is the most dangerous position for it encourages misconceptions), ‘silent truth’ - where the truth is simply buried or hidden in silence and is never spoken of or publicly discussed. There have also been allegations that there are religious leaders who have descended into the political arena to help protect the status quo in order to advance the interests of a few and to play loosely with the truth. If that it is true it may well reflect a very serious decline in honesty and truth in our Nature Isle, something that carries the price of grave repercussions. For if our moral leaders no longer value honesty as an achievable or necessary virtue then our society itself will become weakened and morally impoverished. Our social capital would be taken to a new low, and the very social fabric of our island may unravel. There is also the notion that in pursuit of political favors or the quest for glory and material gain, there is an increasing willingness to deny or distort the truth when it is convenient to achieve that goal. It seems to be a common wisdom that when such persons achieve their goals in those terms, then all will be forgiven and forgotten. But we should note that such behavior has a ‘wood-ants effect’ that is, the slow but steady erosion of our social stock. Let it be suggested though that it is also true, that if our leaders lose their mandate to govern either prematurely or by democratic means, then any indiscretions may be seized upon and there will be a greater call for truth. This is so because, it seems that honesty emerges in defeat and accountability is only demanded in failure. For the very people who seem to be oblivious to truth are the very people who may demand for the punishment of the alleged offenders in the future-something that leaders should always remember: “A lie has speed, but truth has endurance” (Edgar J. Mohn). If the allegations of lies and deception in our public offices are true, it may just be a matter of time before we see the contradiction between the goals of serving the public or common good and the practice of serving a much narrower set of self-serving political or vested interests. We may also appreciate the decline of honesty and integrity and a lack of genuine accountability despite all the arrangements now in place to encourage ethical conduct. But let us be positive and trust that we can restore honesty to its rightful position as a vital component of the wellbeing of our society. There needs to be a cultural awakening within institutions- public, private, educational or religious -that rewards honesty and categorically rejects dishonesty in all shapes and forms. The perceived practice of retrospectively reprimanding dishonesty while simultaneously condoning a status quo of dishonesty must be discouraged. An ethical framework requires a culture that respects honesty, rewards it and encourages it. It accepts that a moral compass is an important tool not only in people’s private lives but in public life as well. Instead of rejecting the efforts of the likes of those person who seek to present the ‘evident truth’ (truth that stands alone and is supported by objective and tangible facts) to us, we must embrace them because public discourse and disclosure must be encouraged and entrenched regardless of who is in leadership. It is through the public and transparent testing of policies and ideas, and the exposure of decisions and the reasons for such decisions that we develop and nurture a culture of honesty. Abuse of power, just as other abusive conduct, needs secrecy to flourish; with public discourse such ills are kept in check. Robust public discourse and disclosure are critical to prevent a society from crumbling into corruption. Khalila le Bruint us stand for truth for at the end, truth is bigger than anyone of us. “A lie may take care of the present, but it has no future” (Author Unknown).
Posted on: Tue, 08 Apr 2014 17:33:12 +0000
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