Respecting Others
"It is terrible to destroy a person's picture of himself in the interests of truth or some other abstraction."
~Doris Lessing~
Isn't the truth always best? When we're talking about ourselves, it is. But we don't need to hurt others in our desire to be truthful.
Maybe we're annoyed that our neighbor poses as an intellectual when he clearly isn't. Maybe we giggle when we see a woman who wants to be considered attractive but is dressed inappropriately. Maybe we know that an achievement a child is proud of means little. But we do no good by telling the truth in these circumstances. And we may do great harm.
Even when I'm short-tempered, I will respect others' self-esteem. I can argue without trying to destroy the self-image of those I argue with.
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