Wit & Attitude Quote by Logan P. Smith

Logan P. Smith’s line is a neat little trapdoor: it looks like a moral maxim, then flips into an indictment of how credibility actually works. “Always tell the truth” should be the safest policy, yet he argues it can make you “thought a liar” - not because truth is slippery, but because people are. The intent is less to praise honesty than to satirize the social economy that rewards plausible narratives over inconvenient facts.

The subtext is about mismatch. Truth, delivered consistently, exposes contradictions in others, punctures comforting myths, and refuses the flattering simplifications we use to keep life coherent. That kind of truth-teller doesn’t just report reality; they destabilize the audience’s preferred version of it. When the facts threaten identity, status, or group belonging, the listener’s defense mechanism is to discredit the speaker. Calling someone a liar is often cheaper than revising your worldview.

The line also needles a common misunderstanding about “truth” as a straightforward currency. Social trust isn’t built on accuracy alone; it’s built on timing, tone, and the tacit agreement to leave certain things unsaid. “Always” is the provocation: relentless honesty can read as performative, sanctimonious, or socially aggressive. Smith, a writer steeped in epigram and irony, compresses a bleak insight into a paradox: in a world run on selective candor, the person who refuses selection looks suspect.