Truth

"You want the truth? You can't handle the truth!"

Well, sometimes I hear people talking tactfully and I wonder to myself: is the tactful truth still the truth? I mean you get this piece of information and you package it nicely so that the party listening to this potentially hurtful news don't feel AS BAD as he/she might have if you blurt straight out what you REALLY wanted to say. Example?

"You're not opinionated; you just have a mind of your own and are not afraid to voice it."

Is that still saying the person is opinionated? On the other hand, you look at people around you; those that are sitting alone in class/work are most probably the ones who are tactless. No one likes to be friends with a "ca tao". The term "honest to a fault" would probably suit them best. "Honesty is the best policy" they would have you believe. But can you be honest without being blunt and still be considered honest? After all, you already wrap the truth in such lovely words, terms, phrases and tones such that something that is actually not in favor of the other party may sound like music to their ears.

"You're not fat honey; you're just big-boned."