Straight to the Point

There is an idea sweeping across the U.S that more and more people are jumping on board for. It's the idea that being tactlessly blunt is the best policy. Obviously they confused this with honesty.

People just want to "say it like it is" and "just be honest; it's not your fault if someone else takes offense at what you said because it's the truth, and the truth hurts." So people say hurtful things that may be true while disregarding how the other person will feel when they hear them.

Now I was a basketball coach. It was my job to hurt other people's feelings when they needed to be hurt on the basketball court to help them improve. This article isn't to say you shouldn't be honest, or you should ALWAYS care about what other people think or how they feel or the way they may take what you say. We can't always worry about people getting offended, but we can worry about offending people. Most of the time being tactlessly blunt is situational.

That was my problem with the movie 'The Invention of Lying" with Ricky Gervais. They were honest in that movie, but they didn't have to say EVERY little thing that popped into their minds. Some days my wife may think I'm dressing horribly, but she doesn't tell me that because she knows I like my outfit and doesn't want me to feel bad. If we were to always be brutally honest, how many times would guys respond with an emphatic "YES!" when asked by a woman if a certain dress makes her look fat. Is that what you really want, ladies?

Like most things in life, the best answer usually lies somewhere in the middle, yet some people like to take to extremes. Chiropractors vs. MD's, republicans vs. democrats, obesity vs. anorexia, etc. The debate is on the outsides, but the answer is usually right in the middle: a mixture of both sides.

Same thing goes for being blunt. There are times when you need to be blunt, but there are times when being blunt and hurtful isn't a good mix. Be honest, but know when to avoid doing emotional damage to someone by saying something that may be true.