HALF TRUTH

A sincere sailor got drunk, one night. This was the first time he had done so. The captain recorded it in the log, "The sailor was drunk tonight." The sailor knew this comment would affect his career, so he the captain to add that it only happened once in three years which was the complete truth. The captain refused and said, "What I have written in the log is the truth."

The next day it was the sailor's turn to fill in the log. He wrote, "The captain was sober tonight." The captain read the comment and asked the sailor to change or add to it explaining the complete truth because this implied that the captain was drunk every other night. The sailor told the captain that what he had written in the log was the truth.

Both statements were true but they conveyed misleading messages. Obviously they were half truths. So often we resort to half truths for a variety of reasons: carelessness, selfishness, to evade or pass on the blame. Never mind the reason, the result is the same: deceit.

We must be better at both, understanding as well as communicating the complete truth. We also need to examine the implications of our perceived truths. Surely if we can realise the result of what maybe a careless half truth, we will be more careful in our responses. For a half truth can be as dangerous as a lie.

Beware of the implications of half truthfulness...
Let’s BE BETTER at careful responsiveness!

- Pravin K. Sabnis