Honesty, Honestly!

I have been thinking a lot about honesty lately. In my previous blog I asked the question "would I tell the cable company if I were getting channels that I was not paying for?" . There was a time when I would have said "hell no" but over the years I have come to the conclusion that I now would. I don't think anyone is completely honest all the time, certainly I am not but at least now I strive toward complete honesty. Although I have been somewhat scrupulous about reporting all my income on my tax returns there have been times when I paid more for something than was indicated on the Bill of Sale. I no longer would do that. It is an ethical situation that not only is a lie on my part but it also contributes to someone else's dishonesty. I am somewhat amazed that some people who consider themselves to be very honest have no ethical dilemma about being paid in cash and then not reporting that income to the IRS. I have a friend who is a "War Tax Resister" who I consider very honest and highly ethical, but he never files a tax return and makes no secret of that fact. I believe this is different from filing a tax information than has incomplete or inaccurate information on it. Of the things that have made me re-evaluate my concern about my own honesty is my involvment in Quaker Church. I have read that it was Quaker merchants who brought about fixed pricing as they felt that if they were asking more for something that they were willing to accept that it was a form of honesty. I don't know if this is true, but it does make some sort of sense to me.