Horseface Steve: Honorable Warrior

Honor: A keen sense of right and wrong; adherence to action or principles considered right; integrity.

Today I'm going to be dishonest. It's just too hard to tell the truth. It's often uncomfortable and inconvenient. I'm going to protect my good name by every means possible. I'm going to weasel my way out of tight spots and exaggerate my accomplishments. My day will go easier if I do this.

There was an old Western serial called "Branded." I think Chuck Connors was in it. That's a great name, by the way: Chuck Connors. I think I'll use it at the coffee shop tomorrow. "Extra-room Americano. OK, what's the name?" I'll pretend I'm squinting into the setting sun: "Connors. Chuck Connors."

Anyway, Chuck was unfairly booted from the cavalry due to some terrible misunderstanding. The commander called him out in front of the entire regiment, ripped the epaulets from his shoulders, and snapped his sword in two, to ominous drum music. That dude was dishonored, although I think he got to keep the broken part of his sword, probably to remind him of his dishonorable actions but it ended up being a very effective weapon, as I recall.

My interpretation is that he tried to tell the truth. Big mistake. Lying is OK if you are trying to protect yourself. And the best thing that evolves from a rich history of lying is that you eventually learn to deceive yourself, which is a major plus. I could justify all kinds of stuff as long as I believed it was OK. Remember: it's not lying if you believe it.

I heard honesty described in the meeting last night as "the absence of the intent to deceive."

Very nice.