What's the Value?

Every now and then this temporal existence is hard to ignore, and as the stage expands more and more into our daily lives I find it interesting to see what it is we claim to value.

The one that stuck out today was that of Truth and Honesty. I have yet to meet a parent that doesn't try to instill these values into their children or into everyone else's children. Society at large claims the value and uses it in everything from empathy training in public schools to guilt trips requesting cash donations to support any number of items. There are organizations that are geared to this pursuit trying to show it's value in every aspect of our daily lives yet do we really value it?

When you look at the clamorous world around us Truth and Honesty rarely make an appearance. Lost in the flash bang of the media and sound bites even "reality" television comes with it's own agenda as we watch players scheme and plot against each other.

The scary thing is how these agendas are only a shadow of those things we don't see. If Truth and Honesty are so important, why are Politicians and Lawyers so powerful? Do they see through the deceit or do they create the shadows that allow them to gain more of the power they crave?

They say that fiction can teach us more than the truth in many cases, but what is truth the philosophers say? Many argue the relevance of truth on the situation - does this increase or decrease it's value? Do the ends really justify any means?

I admit that I've written in very vague generalities - but the question still remains. What is the Value of Truth and Honesty?

Gotta think on this one.