Say What You Mean and Mean What You Say
by Concerning honesty.
This article, is about the scourge of dishonesty that pervades all parts of society from business dealings to politics, religion and of course private life.
The inspiration for this article was an incident that happened to me a short time ago.
I had just popped into to a local retail store to buy a memory card for my camera, the purchase complete I was about to leave. Standing to one side of the entrance was a gentleman wearing a badge, which declared the name of the company he was working for. ( A well known utilities company) He approached me and asked if i would be interested in saving money on my Gas and Electric bills, I was of course interested! I gave him a few details and he told me of the savings I could make. He then said I would get a written quote within a week, I thought fine,I can then look at it, at my leisure and make a decision.
However he then said “ the quote comes with a freephone number you can then call us to cancel”
In other words he had not just given me a quote, he had instigated the transfer of my services to his company without my consent.! Things got a bit heated and I told him in no uncertain terms what to do with his quote.
Another example of this disingenuous behavior happened a few years ago whilst I was walking through the delightful city of York. I was approached by a colorfully dressed individual in robes, he was a member of a religious order. His first act was to wish me well and ask if I would accept a small gift, in my innocence I thought what a nice thing to do.
The gift was a Hardback book, expounding the sects philosophical beliefs, as an avid reader I am always interested in something different. I thanked him and started to walk away, he then blocked my path and asked if I would like to make a small donation. I replied no thanks but thanks for the gift, emphasizing the word ‘gift’. So instead of being upfront ,honest and asking if I wished to purchase the book, thereby giving me the option to politely decline he ended up loosing the book and getting a lecture on his lack of honesty.
Though the above are fairly insignificant on the grand scale of things, and I’m sure most of us can think of more publicly visible examples, I felt that I needed to make it personal because at the end of the day that is how dishonesty is felt. By the individual, by real feeling people and not just as an abstract idea.
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Post CommentBrenda Nelson
On November 13, 2010 at 12:16 pm
sheeesh, I hate it when stuff like that happens… I tend to get rather rude back at people when it does.
Lord Banks
On November 25, 2010 at 4:53 am
Yes society has changed my friend and not for the better! if a thing is too good to belived it is! a well written and well presented cautionary article well done! LB
Yovita Siswati
On December 24, 2010 at 1:09 am
it’ s part of society nowadays. great share.
strovek
On December 30, 2010 at 9:17 am
Nice share.
anndavey650
On February 20, 2011 at 8:44 am
This type of thing happens everywhere these days because everyone is trying to make it rich quick. Money, money, money and a lot of greed. Since when did we all get so greedy? Blame the media – german cars, fancy handbags and posh restaurants we can’t do without. Some of it has to rest of good old fashioned human decency and education though – surely?
PruandMe
On August 12, 2011 at 6:18 pm
Perhaps it’s time to create a Scammers Alert website – it could provide 2 services, firstly warn folks about the current scams going around and secondly to provide an outlet for our rants as we become more and more frustrated with these scams
J M Lennox
On January 14, 2012 at 8:01 pm
So often we see the statement – ”that’s what society is like today” (as no disrespect intended to anyone making that statement). It is a fact unfortunately. You can try to understand and explain the reasons why society has become that way, but at the end of the day it’s just so wrong, and sad that many younger generations do not know any different. At least I’m thankful that I grew up in a time and community which remembers differently.