I don’t think that being brutally honest necessarily means that you have to be an asshole, but the two can get very similar at times. Of course someone being %100 honest wouldn’t feel compelled to tell the lady at the grocery checkout “Wow, your breath smells like pig farts!” But, if asked why he recoiled in horror, he would have to answer honestly right?
“No honey, that dress doesn’t make you look fat. The extra twenty pounds you’re carrying make you look fat.” Assuming that said person is actually overweight, the statement wouldn’t really be untrue. Honest? Yes. Tactful? Not even a little bit.
Tact and diplomacy are usually regarded as traits that should be admired, however, both exercise white-lies, un-truths and flat out lies in order to make them work. A person incapable of even a small lie, would probably even be selected against naturally, having been murdered well before reaching a reproductive age.
Lies and honesty can only coexist because they both have continuums. If it was a literally black and white world with no gray area between lies and honesty, our concept of society as we know it now would absolutely fail. Maybe being “honest” in terms of being virtuous really means that petty matters of truth can be overlooked, glossed over, or even twisted as long as the big things are presented truthfully. If that’s the case, then the most honest person that anyone knows, lies at least a little bit frequently. Seems contradictory doesn’t it?
On a lighter note, the notion of absolute honesty is so incompatible with our societal views now, that a “Be %100 honest” thread could yield some very funny results.
“I see what you’re saying, but I think I’m smarter than you, so I’m just going to discount everything you just said.”
“Honey, I don’t want to have sex tonight. My head feels fine, it’s just that I’m not in the mood for your sweaty grunting, and feeble attempts at getting me off tonight. Find something better to do with those three minutes”
“You said that you got my order, but I don’t believe that you’re actually going to leave off the tomatos like I asked. Could you say it so that I know you heard me?”
“Hey buddy! Yeah we saw your play, it kinda sucked. You screwed up at least five of your lines. I’m almost embarrassed that you’re my kid, all the other kids did fine. I hope you’re not dumb.”
“Yes I do mind cleaning out the gutters. It’s Saturday. I’m not your private handyman. I make all the money in this relationship, I should get to make the rules.”
Clearly, this could be just as ugly as funny. Good thing that we as a society decided that some minor forms of untruth were acceptable, just to make life livable.