Whoever can truly afford being brutally honest nowadays, is free. And probably rich, too.
Which means honesty is a luxury; it has always been.
Could you speak freely with honesty in medieval Europe? No. Sometimes not even Popes or Kings, they would suffer if decided to do so. Could you speak freely in bolchevic Rusia? No; and in this particular case, not even nowadays. Could you speek freely with honesty in Cuba, Venezuela, North Korea or Nicaragua? No, you can't.
In the previous paragraph, it seems there are some adjectives implicit in it: if the society you live in is medieval or authoritarian, you can't be honest. Probably, liberal democracies have granted us the luxurius right to be honest. Not even close.
If you are lucky enough to live in a liberal democracy -what ever you understand by it-, you are still not totally free. If you speak plainly and publicly against the status quo, the current political trend or such: you will suffer. You could lose your job, be casted out of your community or worst.
Honesty is a luxury few people can truly afford. If you can be honest, publicly and clearly, without it affecting your livehood, safety and social currency, you are truly rich.
Honestly?