Public and Civic Club Talks
HONESTY IS THE ONLY POLICY
[Essay prepared by John E. Enslen on August 10, 2012, at the request of Edgar Welden
for inclusion in a book he was authoring.]
I was born in 1946 shortly after World War II. I attended high school in Wetumpka, Alabama, during the first half of the 1960’s. Times were certainly different back then in many ways. For instance, at least once a month in high school, all of the students in the top four grades would gather into the school auditorium to hear a basic sermon from a guest speaker who moralized, often relying on scriptures. We even called this time period “chapel.”
At one of our scheduled “chapels” when I was a junior, the guest speaker failed to show; so our principal Mr. O. M. Bratton extemporaneously filled the gap. Mr. Bratton, who at that time had served as the principal for about 20 years, was short of stature, quick and jerky in his body movements, impatient with non-sense, morally straight, and strict in his methods of dealing with deviant students. He may not have been loved by all, but he was certainly respected by all.
After taking the podium, he commenced to tell the story of a young 10th grade girl who came into his office crying vociferously many years ago. In between sobs, he was able to determine that during “gym” class, the term used to refer to a physical exercise class in the gymnasium, she had lost a $20 gold piece. It’s hard for us to imagine now that people once had gold coins which regularly circulated as a part of our common currency. A $20 coin of the 1940’s would be worth many times that amount in the 21st century. But $20 was still a whole lot of money back then when a brand new house could be built for $8,000.
Mr. Bratton told the crying young woman that earlier in the day, a young man had found a $20 gold piece in the gymnasium and turned it in at his office. The young woman’s distraught and teary-eyed face transposed itself into a gigantic smiley face.
Mr. Bratton went on to tell us that the young man who brought the coin to his office had been tempted by his peers to keep the coin. Our principal told us that being honest often requires courage and sacrifice, especially when others try to persuade us to justify dishonest behavior.
He closed our “chapel” meeting by saying that if we find ourselves in such a situation as the young man, we should remember that the lasting peace and self-respect that comes from being honest is more valuable than any amount of money. He said that the fruits of honesty will long outlive the temporary, guilt-ridden pleasure derived from ill-gotten or unearned gain.
Following chapel, I was surprised to see Mr. Bratton press through the crowd of students, walk directly to me, look me in the face, and say: “John, that young man who turned in the coin was your father.”
I would observe throughout my life that Daddy was very jealous of his reputation for honesty. He once slapped a man seated in the barber chair next to him because the man accused Daddy of stealing public funds. Daddy was arrested, charged with assault and battery, and tried in district court. As further evidence that our society has changed, Daddy was acquitted on the ground of provocation.
In our home hangs an original painting with an unseen thank you note taped to the back of it. The painting was a gift from an artist in Athens, Georgia, whose purse my wife Dianne and I found unattended on a crowded tram in the Atlanta airport.
By rumbling through the purse and ignoring the cash, we discovered, while seated on the back seat of the crowded tram, the name of the lady whose purse we possessed. With her name and the help of an airport official, we were able to locate the purse owner’s departing gate. Due to the immediate departure time, I ran with the purse to her gate, found her, and delivered the purse to her. The lady’s distraught and teary-eyed face transposed itself into a gigantic smiley face.
When we are honest in our actions and dealings with others, we are able to enjoy peace of mind and maintain our self-respect. We build strength of character, which allows us to be of more service to others. We become a person of integrity who is trustworthy in the eyes of those around us. Our reputation for honesty and integrity is hard earned, one day at a time, day after day, and one stupid choice can tarnish it for a lifetime.
We successfully teach our children by proper example. Virtues, like honesty, are not hereditary. Virtues are not a part of our DNA. It takes at least the effort of a virtuous example for a parent to instill a virtue in his or her child. The formal teaching of virtues by parents and others to our children increases the chance that they will be virtuous. We cannot count on today’s world to do anything other than promote secularism.
If we as parents or individuals are dishonest in our words or actions, we hurt ourselves and often hurt others as well. If we lie or neglect to give the full amount of work for our pay, we lose our self-respect. Dishonesty will surely damage our relationships with family members and friends and business associates. We will find that people no longer trust us.
In today’s world, there are some who think nothing of breaking their word, their promises, and their agreements with others. You will quickly find that people prefer to deal with those whom they can fully trust. If we expect to be truly successful in life, from both a standpoint of temporal sufficiency and personal satisfaction, then honesty should not only be our preferred policy, it should be our only policy.
John E. Enslen