It was an instance of an effort to be honest. Politicians often pose a credibility gap with false promises, innuendoes, malicious slander and selfaggrandizement. Advertisers falsify by every subtlety of misrepresentation. Professional people prey on the helplessness of the ignorant and weak with exorbitant charges and meaningless actions. Taxpayers evade their legal obligations.
Religionists are hypocritical.
There are exceptions in every category, but dishonesty is so common in our modern society that all of us are tempted to practice it. Most of us know what it is to salve our consciences with our rationalizations. Our rationalizing is our dishonesty with ourselves. Our first challenge is to correct this, for if we do not do this we will correct no other kind of dishonesty. Men can deceive themselves and be honestly unaware of it.