Honesty is never seen sitting astride the fence.

The aphorism equates honesty with moral clarity and decisiveness. To “sit astride the fence” is to avoid commitment—hedging, equivocating, or trying to please opposing sides. Washburn’s line suggests that genuine honesty requires choosing a side when principles are at stake: stating what one believes to be true, accepting the consequences, and refusing the comfort of ambiguity used as self-protection. It also implies that neutrality can be a form of dishonesty when it masks fear, self-interest, or a desire to evade accountability. As a compact moral maxim, it praises forthrightness and warns against the ethical compromises of perpetual fence-sitting.