Henry Louis Mencken said, “It is hard to believe that a man is telling the truth when you know you would lie if you were in his place.” Under most circumstances people in today's world would lie before telling the truth. I believe people would rather distort the truth than be honest with themselves and others. Judith Ortiz Cofer, Nora Ephron, and Eric Schlosser demonstrate honesty in their essays. Cofer's essay "The Story of My Body" is an autobiography focusing on his childhood; how she honestly felt about herself growing up. She was honest about her skin color; he did not try to enrich the color of his skin to improve the essay. “White,” “blanca” is what Cofer was identified with in Puerto Rico growing up (Cofer 324). Being different growing up is difficult and intimidating, but she was honest with herself and accepted who she was. Cofer was honest about her size “I was 4F, thin, short, bespectacled” is Cofer's way of honestly explaining her height and honestly telling readers that her nickname was “shrimp” (326, 327). By being honest, it leads Cofer to realize that he has knowledge, which is more important than getting an A in physical education class. This allowed her to discover who she was, which helped her become an honest person. Finally, Cofer's honesty about his "appearance" helps portray an image of confusion while growing up. In Puerto Rico she was “rewarded for being pretty, pretty,” but in the “traditional school world” she was simply “presentable” (Cofer 328, 329). Being honest with herself allowed her to represent her class, she didn't dress excessively; he dressed “neatly” (Cofer 329). Her honesty throughout her childhood allowed her to become the kind of person she is today. Ephron's essay “The Boston Photographe...... middle of paper ...... bacteria made it all over America in their foods ( Schlosser 496). Corporate advertising “aggressively markets to children” and children can be affected by contaminated meat more easily than adults (Schlosser 496). The rise of multinational fast food corporations began the devastation of economic decline in the United States. Honesty can be hard to find in someone, the fact is that people lie before they tell the truth. It's hard to understand that the honesty contained in a novel or article can be more entertaining than a fictional story. The three essays by Judith Ortiz Cofer, Nora Ephron, and Eric Schlosser describe how honesty overcomes dishonesty. Writing about personal events in life, or a company destroying America, or even how other people are angry about something you did, is still the best politics to be honest..