--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I am afraid we must make the world honest…" description: "\"I am afraid we must make the world honest before we can honestly say to our children that honesty is the best policy.\" — George Bernard Shaw" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ac4/george-bernard-shaw-68_children_i-am-afraid-we-must-make-the-world-hones_1257259.png" --- # I am afraid we must make the world honest before we can… ![“I am afraid we must make the world honest before we can honestly say to our children that honesty is the best policy.” quote by George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ac4/george-bernard-shaw-68_children_i-am-afraid-we-must-make-the-world-hones_1257259.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ac4/george-bernard-shaw-68_children_i-am-afraid-we-must-make-the-world-hones_1257259.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ac4/george-bernard-shaw-68_children_i-am-afraid-we-must-make-the-world-hones_1257259.png) > “I am afraid we must make the world honest before we can honestly say to our children that honesty is the best policy.” [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Honesty must be cultivated in society before we can teach children that it is the best policy. **In simple terms:** We need a truthful world before teaching kids honesty. Key Takeaway Build integrity in community first. Themes ethics parenting societal values Mood reflective serious Type moral didactic When to use this quote - education - family discussions - policy making - media campaigns Key Concepts integrity social responsibility Questions to Reflect On - How can we model honesty daily? - What societal changes support truthful upbringing? A Different Perspective Changing society is slow and may face resistance. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Children](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/children/) [Honest](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/honest/) [Honesty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/honesty/) [Truth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/truth/) [World](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/world/) ## Related quotes > [We must make the world honest before we can honestly say to our children that honesty is the best policy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/we-must-make-the-world-honest-before-we-can-honestly-say-to-our/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) > [The important things are children, honesty, integrity and faith.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andy-williams/the-important-things-are-children-honesty-integrity-and-faith/) [Andy Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andy-williams/) > [When I go home, I try to raise my children with honesty and integrity and teach them to take care of the world and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-bacon/when-i-go-home-i-try-to-raise-my-children-with-honesty-and-integrity/) [Kevin Bacon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-bacon/) > [We may argue eloquently that 'Honesty is the best Policy' - unfortunately, the moment honesty is adopted for the sake of policy it mysteriously…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothy-l-sayers/we-may-argue-eloquently-that-honesty-is-the-best-policy-unfortunately/) [Dorothy L. Sayers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothy-l-sayers/) > [Honesty Is The Best Policy. Unless, 0f Course, You are Posting A Personal Ad On An Internet Dating Site](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ritu-ghatourey/honesty-is-the-best-policy-unless-0f-course-you-are-posting-a/) [Ritu Ghatourey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ritu-ghatourey/) > [“Yeah, well you know what they say. Honesty is the best policy, but insanity is a better defense.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stacy-mantle/yeah-well-you-know-what-they-say-honesty-is-the-best-policy-but/) Stacy Mantle > [Honesty is the best policy in life, but it is essential in art.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ritu-ghatourey/honesty-is-the-best-policy-in-life-but-it-is-essential-in-art/) [Ritu Ghatourey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ritu-ghatourey/) > [Honesty is always the best policy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-washington/honesty-is-always-the-best-policy/) [George Washington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-washington/) > [All my fears and cares are of this world; if there is another, an honest man has nothing to fear from it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-burns/all-my-fears-and-cares-are-of-this-world-if-there-is-another-an/) [Robert Burns](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-burns/) > [“You deserve the best, the very best, because you are one of the few people in this lousy world who are honest to themselves,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frida-kahlo/you-deserve-the-best-the-very-best-because-you-are-one-of-the-few/) [Frida Kahlo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frida-kahlo/) > [You can't just keep telling a story the same way over and over again. 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The whole book-publicity thing is not really honest, at base.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ethan-canin/you-have-to-be-smart-enough-to-see-the-world-for-yourself-and-honest/) [Ethan Canin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ethan-canin/) > [The poems are part of my attempt to understand being in the world in an honest way.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-beachy-quick/the-poems-are-part-of-my-attempt-to-understand-being-in-the-world-in/) [Dan Beachy-Quick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-beachy-quick/) ## More by George Bernard Shaw > [I love little children too but I don't cut off their heads and stick them in vases.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/i-love-little-children-too-but-i-don-t-cut-off-their-heads-and-stick/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) > [Blasphemy and sedition (meaning the truth about Church and State).](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/blasphemy-and-sedition-meaning-the-truth-about-church-and-state/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) > [In the arts of life, man invents nothing; but in the arts of death he outdoes Nature herself, and produces by chemistry and machinery…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/in-the-arts-of-life-man-invents-nothing-but-in-the-arts-of-death-he/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) > [“My religious convictions and scientific views cannot at present be more specifically defined than as those of a believer in creative evolution. I desire…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/my-religious-convictions-and-scientific-views-cannot-at-present-be/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) > [What a man believes may be ascertained, not from his creed, but from the assumptions on which he habitually acts.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/what-a-man-believes-may-be-ascertained-not-from-his-creed-but-from/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) > [You are my inspiration and my folly. You are my light across the sea, my million nameless joys, and my day's wage. 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