June 2000

Always Tell the Truth?

Many of us subscribe to the view that lying in any form or shape should not be done. Indeed, insofar as being truthful is a virtue one must practice what he preaches. How often do you practice at telling the truth? Or, to put it differently, how often do you practice at not telling a lie? Try going through a single day without lying. You might be surprised at how hard it is!

Even high profile politicians who are viewed as persons of courage and integrity such as Republican Senator and former presidential hopeful John McCain, find it a daunting task to not tell the truth. Take, for example, Senator McCain’s predicament during the heat of the South Carolina primary race. Fearful of losing voters, he refused to make his views known about the flying of the Confederate flag over the South Carolina statehouse.

Now, several months later, he admitted that he had been against flying the flag all along. “I chose to compromise my principles,” the Senator said in a recent newspaper story. “I broke my promise to always tell the truth.”

Is John McCain a deceitful politician? Or, by confessing, did he really show us he is truly a man of courage and integrity? What obligations to tell the truth do persons running for high public office have?