MORE ON HONESTY

Yesterday I used the expression “honest as the day is long.” I became curious as to the meaning and origin of the saying and looked it up online. Here is what I found.

First of all, it was coined by Henry David Thoreau, the marcher to a different drum (he made up that turn of phrase also). He was not only considered to be an honest man himself, he was a man who acted on his beliefs, even if he had to spend time in jail for his actions. Because Thoreau did not believe in the Mexican War and didn’t want his money to support it, he refused to pay his income taxes. Of course, the government was not sympathetic and he was jailed for a time. I wonder what would happen if all the Americans who don’t support the war in Iraq declined to pay their taxes. Interesting thought. Anyway, that’s the origin of the saying.

And now for the meaning: If a person is described thus, he/she is considered to be “a consistently reliable person. The implication seems to be that he or she is honest all the time, 24 hours a day.” (This quote is from the Dictionary of Cliches by James Rogers).

So there you have it; if there is a more apt description of my genius, I don’t know what it could be. And --- I could say the same for my dear son-in-law, Mike (or Miktrue in his recent comments). I’m sure that Ashley was drawn to him because of this trait as well as his many other wonderful characteristics. I agree with him when he says that he and the genius have many of the same values.