Greatest Show on Earth: The lying games are never in your favor
I'm just saying . . . James Cook - Times Editor
Once again spring is upon us and so are the pesky fly-by-night home repair and landscaping people. I have already been approached twice about sealing my driveway, twice about mowing my yard and making it look like a pro baseball field. I found that one funny because I was on my riding mower when they stopped by. I’ve even been asked about putting on a new roof. That group stopped me while I was in Mt. Sterling.
Of all of those people, when I told them I worked at a newspaper and would like to see a business card, in case I was interested later, only one gave me a card. And he was quite honest, he said he’d only be in town another day or two and he was heading back down south.
It seems like there are people always looking to either take adavantage or try to make a quick buck with every chance they can. Now if it is legit, make that money. But if not, move on out of my way.
It is not just people trying to pick up a quick buck that I keep an eye on. I also keep my eyes on people who make a lot of promises and never seem to come through. Oh, sometimes they come up with a good deal. But as a rule they usually bite off more than they could chew.
It is those people I keep a good eye on.
You see, I like honesty, integrity and hard-work ethics. If its a job worth doing, its worth doing well – the first time. If I can’t trust your word, a handshake or a piece of paper won’t do either.
Trust is earned and rightfully so. If we just believe everything we are told, we become like lemmings and end up falling off cliffs. Never did understand that.
I believe in people until they give me a reason not to. I’m a people watcher and I like seeing how people’s actions and words match up. I don’t believe anyone doubts me when I say what I believe or what I am going to do. I expect the same from others.
What’s that old saying, you’re only as good as your word?
It is nothing for politicians to make promises and then never keep them. The voters have become so used to being lied to they just accept it. Then they forget and keep voting for people who can’t tell you the truth.
Not me.
If you will lie to me once, I figure you will do it again. That really runs all over me.
I understand someone may get busy and meant to follow through, but things happened. I’ve been there. But the effort was put forth, earnestly put forth, and with that I can accept the effort.
But blatant misleading, scratch that, lies, I cannot nor will I accept. If you lie to me then you do not respect me in any manner. It insults me and my intelligence (not that I have a lot of that).
In this job I have to talk with and interview people daily. I have to look at records, do a little investigating and even try to make sense out of documents and budgets that I know are made to be so confusing so the working man/woman cannot understand where the money goes.
That is all fine and dandy. But I wish more people, especially those in leadership roles, would just tell it like it is and quit trying to sugar-coat everything. Better yet, tell the flat out truth and let the chips fall where they may. It sounds a lot better than the ramblings or attempt to sound like an Ivy League grad when the closest ivy you’ve been to was the poison kind in the woods.
This county, this state and this country is facing a lot of uphill battles. The economy is slow, gas prices are high, insurance is rising (if you’re fortunate to have it) and jobs are falling.
Maybe politicians at all levels feel like they have to give us hope, even false hope, to make us happy.
Maybe they have their own agenda to take care or they just want to make it to the next election and live off the working people. I don’t know.
Maybe some are working hard, but the odds are stacked against them. I could possibly believe that. But regardless, I expect those in charge to be no different than I. Speak the truth, even if it hurts. Don’t be malicious, but don’t be deceitful either.
Many people will read this and say, “He’s on another rant.” Maybe so, but all I’m asking for are leaders who will quit trying to rationalize their moves to stay in power or attempts to keep the good-old boy system in place and do what is right because it is right. No more stories, no more attempts to get something for nothing and no more you watch my back I’ll watch yours.
That includes leaders, supervisors, bosses, coaches, administrators and yes, politicians. No more shell games, no more what’s behind door number three and no more “what they don’t know won’t hurt them” philosophy.
Honesty is truly the best policy and transparancy is more than just a catch phrase. P.T Barnum, the man who helped create the world of making a buck at any cost through entertainment, once said, “There’s a sucker born every minute and two to take him.” I guess that is so, but only if we choose to be the sucker.
I’m just saying . . .