Trust means enabling other people to take advantage of our vulnerabilities but expecting that they will not do so. Trust and friendliness go hand in hand. I suppose we can do without friendliness but we can’t do without trust. We have to have some trust in each other. Trust is what a healthy society is built on. The most valuable thing the bad guys have stolen from us is trust.
Last week my wife and I went Christmas shopping at the big mall in Dallas. One store in the mall required us to check our shopping bags at the door. Before you even enter the place they suspect you of being a thief. Yes, I know that there are shoplifters but I don’t like walking through a store knowing that management thinks that I’m trying to steal. If they don’t trust me, it’s hard for me to trust them.
I thought about this today while driving back form the mom and pop hardware store in my little hometown. I picked out a dozen carriage bolts and a dozen nuts from the hardware bin. When I placed them on the counter, the cashier asked how many did I have? I replied that I had twelve bolts and twelve nuts. Without counting, he rang up the purchase and wished me a happy new year. He trusted me. I suspect he has less stolen form him than the big city store that makes you check your shopping bags.
Last week my wife and I went Christmas shopping at the big mall in Dallas. One store in the mall required us to check our shopping bags at the door. Before you even enter the place they suspect you of being a thief. Yes, I know that there are shoplifters but I don’t like walking through a store knowing that management thinks that I’m trying to steal. If they don’t trust me, it’s hard for me to trust them.
I thought about this today while driving back form the mom and pop hardware store in my little hometown. I picked out a dozen carriage bolts and a dozen nuts from the hardware bin. When I placed them on the counter, the cashier asked how many did I have? I replied that I had twelve bolts and twelve nuts. Without counting, he rang up the purchase and wished me a happy new year. He trusted me. I suspect he has less stolen form him than the big city store that makes you check your shopping bags.