By the way, the consequences of lying or doing something wrong? Just say you are sorry. That fixes everything.
Yeah, the people who will openly admit, even brag, about their scheming ways like it something to be proud of!
One problem I think for some people is that they actually believe their own BS. Their grasp on reality is limited by their own self-interests and narcissism. They don’t even know they are lying. It’s a psychosis.
People who get ahead by lying, cheating, stealing, manipulating, whatever you want to call it have no incentive to stop doing what they do unless and until honest people call them out on their BS. Someone upthread made a good point about that when it comes to dealing with friends and loved ones …
You don’t say anything because you don’t want to start a fight.
Okay. Fair enough.
Or, maybe you don’t want to be judgmental. They say something about cheating on taxes or medicare fraud and you don’t want to slam them right away without knowing all the facts. I can relate to that. Anyone can.
But by not saying anything at what point do you become complicit?
On your point, twochicos, yes some people actually believe their own BS. Isn’t that what psychopaths are? I detest liars and absolutely wouldn’t put up with it in my kids. I love it now when they tell me stories about how they either distance themselves from people they know who are dishonest constantly or correct things by telling people off or whatever works. What is scary though is when one BS artist aligns himself with a few others and they form a alternative reality truth denying team. It can happen in an office or where ever and if you live in a bubble you don’t have to deal with stuff like that but for the rest of us I thought it might be an issue worth discussing.
And before anyone reads too far into anything I’ve written here, and checks my other posts here to see what other information they can find about me, let me make clear I am not posting any of this in reaction to anything going on in my life or my kids life right now. I am a little disgusted at certain elected people we have in relation to the topic of this thread but it goes well beyond just one public example like that. I think little by little what you see in public has been deteriorating for a long time until now we are at the bottom of the barrel.
It is up to the late night talk shows hosts to inject truth and reality into discourse. The media is clueless basically. Late night talk show hosts are the only ones allowed to make fun of the king, as long as they are funny, like court jesters, they don’t get their heads cut off. I have to go for a bike ride with co-workers so won’t be around to read if anyone replies until well into the afternoon. A bike ride and then met for beer. Beer and bike riding. I don’t even have a bike and not sure how I got talked into doing this I think we are celebrating the end of finals week.
The irony of the applicability of that statement to a place like this is rich. 
I’m amazed at the honesty of some of the people on this thread. Impressed, too.
I lie routinely, especially at work. Right now, most of those lies relate to my membership in Weight Watchers. I don’t want my colleagues or superiors to know about that. Some would think less of me because I need the support of an organized program to lose weight, rather than being able to do it on my own. Others would think that I’m criticizing their personal choices because they have weight problems too but are not currently addressing them. And a third group would turn into the food police, second-guessing everything they see me eat.
So if I’m asked to work late on a Wednesday, I say that I can’t but that I will log in from home later in the evening to finish the work. And if I’m pressed for the reason why I can’t stay late, I lie. I’ve invented a dental appointment, a friend’s birthday dinner, and several errands that involve places that close at 6, like the pack-and-ship store or the dry cleaners.
I don’t feel guilty about this at all. The work still gets done, and I get to keep something private that I prefer not to share.
You asked about honesty on a 1 to 10 scale. I’d give myself a 3. I do have some integrity, and I wouldn’t lie to hurt someone else or get something I’m not entitled to. But telling the truth for its own sake, in all situations? I don’t see the value in that.
@Marian I don’t see your example given about WW as lying, it’s not sharing. We don’t need the world in all our personal business. Just tell them you have an appointment or commitment that can’t be changed and leave it at that. They don’t need more details. It will make you more mysterious. 
How (dis)honest is it when someone says or writes something that is technically true, but misleading because some relevant details are left out? I.e. there is no actual lying, but the effect is to mislead others through omission.
Examples include (when they are not out-and-out lying) politicians, partisan media, media in general with respect to click-bait headlines.
To me that is an example of being honest but lacking integrity.
It’s referred to as a “lie of omission” so it is technically lying.
I’m apparently in an industry with dirtbags and thieves. People who routinely commit medicare fraud. I stick to the regulations like glue. I don’t take a penny I don’t deserve. I under promise and over deliver. I’d far rather have people trust me then to make a little extra money, and it has paid off very well.
I’m also all about personal responsibility. It’s okay to make a mistake, I do it on a daily basis, just admit it and we’ll work together to fix it. But what I don’t like is employees who try and take advantage - by stealing time, by shirking responsibilities, by saying it’s not my job. Don’t lie about a dead relative to get some time off. Because if you lie about coming in 30 minutes late, about a grandparent who didn’t really die - what else are you lying about?
I was raised by someone who is a compulsive liar (not sure that’s the right word, but she lies about even really goofy stuff, and even though she has dementia, she still “remembers to lie.”) I have been divorced any lying was a big part of that. So honesty is really important to me. I can’t even stand to listen to certain people talk