The importance of being honest

So because of ethics and my big mouth, I owe my friend an iPod.\nThis summer, Nick predicted that White House Deputy Chief of Staff Karl Rove was the insider who leaked Valerie Plame's name -- a state secret -- to Chicago Sun-Times columnist Robert Novak. Thinking Rove was too smart for that, I told Nick rashly, "If Rove is the leaker, I'll buy you an iPod." (This is what compulsive nerds do for a rush.)\nHeadlines proved Nick right, and while Rove's off the hook for his indiscretions, I'm still on the hook for the damned iPod.\nNick nags me about it constantly. He should work for Sallie Mae's loan repayment department. Or the Mob. He can lay a guilt trip faster than Fat Louie could bust a kneecap. The guy makes Shylock look like Mother Teresa.\nBut I'll pay up, because I made a bet and I gave my word.\nIn Sunday school, I learned character is what we are in the dark. This used to scare me because my favorite sins are best committed in the dark. But the older I get, the more I realize character is critical. If you lose your reputation, nothing else is worth a pinch of poop.\nWho wants to go to the pastor who can't keep a secret? Or the lawyer who's caught padding bills? Or the gynecologist who's discovered surreptitiously taking Polaroids of his "work"?\nIt doesn't take something drastic to ruin your credibility. In a hot minute you could go from being Ethics McEthicson to being the girl who switches price tags, the guy who comes to class drunk, the girl who cheats on her boyfriend, the guy who doesn't return a friend's favors, or the guy who's all talk and no show, who breaks his promises and welches on his bets.\nTrust me: Your reputation will follow you like the mark of Cain for years to come. For instance, people who knew me as an undergrad still refer to me as the Fat Drunk.\nSo what can you do? Don't lie. Don't cut corners with rules. Don't cheat. Treat every person with dignity and respect, whether he or she deserves it or not. Work hard. Don't make bets you can't pay, and do what you say you'll do so people around you know your word is golden.\nMind you, ethics aren't natural; they're a human invention. But they're all that separates us from insensible beasts. And of course the French.\nEthics will cost you, though. I owe a guy an iPod. I had to buy Dad a steak dinner when Bush won re-election. And because of a vow sworn in the fury of post-election bitterness, I can't sleep with a Republican until there's another Democrat in the White House. (I've had to turn away several positively delicious neocons.)\nBut even if ethics is murder on your social calendar and wallet, you'll have your reputation. And there's a hell of a lot of money to be made just by being honest.