In Shakespeare's "King Lear" we are presented with a tragedy that results from greed, corruption and other forms of evil villainy. Yet, there is one cause of this tragedy that is frequently overlooked, that of, honesty. It is the principle of honesty that poses a problem for both Shakespearean characters of the past and modern people today.

In the play honesty poses a devastating problem for King Lear's family. In the very beginning it is Cordelia's blatant honesty that cost her "opulent" share of the royal inheritance. In comparison to her sister's flamboyant and empty hearted praise, Cordelia's true and virtuous honesty is portrayed in a negative sense in the eyes of all but Kent and the King of France. Later on when the noble hearted Kent stands up to defend the honest integrity of Cordelia he is summarily banished from the kingdom. With these two potent examples, Shakespeare demonstrates to us that truth is not something that will set you free. In fact, in the eyes of the world (i.e. King Lear) truth and honesty can be easily mistaken for pride and arrogance and then be punished harshly.

In a similar manner, telling the truth and being honest are not always the desirable traits we believe them to be in our culture today. In fact we live in a society in which we have come to expect a large amount of dishonesty. At the base of our legal system are lawyers, whose sole purpose is to prove their clients innocence regardless of what the truth may be. Next, there is a common feeling that our political system is full of vipers as cunning and villainous as Goneril and Regan. Finally, we very often see the world through the biased and distorted eyes of the mass media, who are inclined to put whatever spin upon the newsreel that will serve their own best interest. And when those with the strength and integrity to stand up and proclaim the truth dare to speak out, they are ostracized, marginalized and ignored. An example of this would be any number of the environmental groups who lobby daily in Washington to protect sensitive threatened, and endangered habitats. Though they steadfastly have proclaimed the truth about the threat of industry and urban development in certain areas of our environment, they are consistently ignored until a major environmental crisis is at hand. Much like Cordelia and Kent the reward for their honesty is harsh alienation from mainstream society.

Although it is widely believed that honesty is the best policy, both Shakespeare and our society today have proven otherwise. Instead of being rewarded and praised for telling the truth, characters and people are too often punished for their sincerity. Whether it be in Elizabethan England or modern America, telling the truth has become something that people are more comfortable paying lip service to rather than actually doing. But perhaps what is most disturbing is that our disdain for hearing the truth may mean that our mindset is no better than that of King Lear, whose own self pride and faulty reasoning led to his destruction.