No Kidding – It’s National Honesty Day

Today is known as National Honesty Day – a day when you’re encouraged to be honest for 24 hours. You know the story about the boy who cried wolf so many times that when a wolf actually showed up, nobody believed him.

M. Hirsh Goldberg, the former press secretary to the governor of Maryland created National Honesty Day in the early 1990s after spending four years researching and writing The Book of Lies (Morrow). His reason for creating National Honesty Day was because he felt the month of April begins with April Fool’s Day – a day that often depends on lies for a big laugh. He thought the month should end on a better note – a day of honesty.

Among the most famous liars in history:

• Adolf Hitler – he made deals with neighboring countries that he would never invade, but turned around and did invade.
• Bill Clinton claimed he never had sexual relations with a White House intern – we know how that turned out.
• Richard Nixon denied he knew anything about the break-in of the Democratic headquarters at the Watergate Hotel.
• Barry Bonds, Rafael Palmiero, Sammy Sosa, Mark McGwire, Roger Clemens and others claimed they never used steroids.
• The Greeks built a huge horse and presented it as a gift to the Trojans. But hidden inside were Greek warriors who snuck out at night and defeated the Trojans as they slept.
•  Bernie Madoff’s ponzi scheme cheated clients out of $50-billion in investments.