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Honesty. Merriam-Webster describes this word as "the quality of being fair and truthful: the quality of being honest. Honesty implies a refusal to lie, steal, or deceive in any way. Honor suggests an active or anxious regard for the standards of one's profession, calling, or position."

Most people attempt to live their lives not trying to deceive others, but with integrity and good character. Of course everyone is unable to do this 24/7 whether it is not answering a waiter truthfully when they ask you how your food is and you reply "fine" but truly do not like the dish, or when you ask your friend how an outfit looks and they reply, "it's really nice" when deep down they don't think it is very flattering. We all tell "fibs" or "little white lies" in order to save another person's feelings, but where does the line get crossed to the point that everything a person says becomes questionable?

Back in 1997, Jim Carrey was in the movie "Liar, Liar." He played a man who often made promises to his small son, but continually broke them. His son made a wish that his dad would stop lying for 24 hours, and thus ensued Jim Carrey's antics.

For some reason this movie and the topic of honesty has been a part of my thoughts for the last several months. With this election season in full swing, the buzzword of the day has been "fact checking" and "truth-o-meters." When did honesty become an antiquated idea that seemed to die with "honest Abe" Lincoln in 1865?

The Washington Post's 2016 Election Fact Checker gave Hillary Clinton an average score of telling untruths 55 percent of the time and Donald Trump an average score of telling untruths 85 percent of the time. Politifact rated 269 statements from Hillary Clinton and found 72 percent were true/mostly true/half true; while she had 28 percent rated mostly false/pants on fire. Donald Trump was rated on 289 statements and was found to have 29 percent true/mostly true/half true; while he had 71 percent mostly false/pants on fire.

We all know numbers can be manipulated, and because we have become a society that is so busy, we don't have the time to truly analyze all the data we encounter each day. What astounds me is the extent of the untruths, and how often they become repeated as facts.

You may wonder what honesty has to do with a business column. We have all heard the line "People do business with those they know, like and trust," right? At the Greater Palm Bay Chamber of Commerce, we encourage members to attend our events and network so they get to know other members and build a relationship of trust. It is important to feel confident about a referral you provide to another member because it is also your reputation if your referral does not provide a good product or service.

No one can go through life like Jim Carrey being 100% truthful, but when we have gotten to the point where we accept 55-85% untruths from individuals, I have to question our integrity as a society.

I heard a line, "You get what you accept," and I fear we have become so complacent in questioning what we are being told, it is teaching the next generation that facts and figures are not important - it is all in the way you sell it.

As business owners and executives we all have choices to make. Providing false facts and shoddy products or workmanship may work in the short term, but my hope is that honesty and integrity triumph in the end. We all want to feel good about the people we do business with. Maintaining our own honesty and integrity is one of the only things we have power over in business.

In order to change this climate of dishonesty, I think we have to question what we hear, read or watch on media outlets. It is important not to spout facts and figures without checking their validity. Repeating gossip, sharing misinformation on social media and continuing to perpetuate untruths adds to the current climate of dishonesty. If we each hold ourselves accountable, we can change this climate one person at a time.

Nancy Peltonen is president and CEO of the Greater Palm Bay Chamber of Commerce.

Columnist series are sponsored by weVENTURE, powered by the Florida Institute of Technology. weVENTURE has locations in Melbourne and Rockledge. The Center is funded in part through a cooperative agreement with the U.S. Small Business Administration. For more information, visit weventure.org or call 321-674-7007.

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The importance of honesty and honor in today's world

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Honesty. Merriam-Webster describes this word as "the quality of being fair and truthful: the quality of being honest. Honesty implies a refusal to lie, steal, or deceive in any way. Honor suggests an active or anxious regard for the standards of one's profession, calling, or position."

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Topic Sentence #2

: (expresses a direct causal link, a probable causal link, or an analogy or preceden

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This is my subtopic #1

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Definition Essay

A definition essay defines a certain person, place, or thing, through the duration of the text.

Formal definitions contain three parts:

1.) the term to be defined, 2.) the general class to which

the term belongs, and 3.) the things that make the term different from all other items in the

general class to which the term belongs. All three of these parts should be in a definition essay.

Main

ly, definitions essay

s define by comparison or examples.

I.

Introduction:

Start broad

ly

and end narrow

ly

. Introductions aim to introduce

the topic without giving too much away in the beginning. They end narrowly

by concluding with the thesis statements, whi

ch is a preview for the rest of the

paper.

A.

Thesis Statement:

Friendship is shaped by trust, love, and fun times.

II.

Body Paragraph One: Trust

A.

In this paragraph, talk about what trust is and how it defines what

friendship is.

III.

Body Paragraph Two: Love

A.

In this paragraph, talk about what love is and how it defines what

friendship is.

IV.

Body Paragraph Three: Fun Times.

A.

In this paragraph, talk about what fun times are and how it defines

what friendship is.

V.

Conclusion:

Connect your individual ideas back to the overarching

argument

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Not only in America, but in the world, obesity has played a major role in children and adults lives. There has been a significant amount of increasing number of obese children and adults. This can range from mental health, physical health, and/or genetics.

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The increasing number of obese children and/or adults.

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1) Choose Topic
2) Research
3) Thesis 4/05
4) Outline 4/06
5) Rough Draft 4/07
6) Final Draft 4/09