Quote:
Originally Posted by Ford Prefect
I'm guessing you've never been royally screwed by a wife, friends or sibling? Having had some extremely bad experiences with all three has made me a lot less trusting of humanity. Bad advice? Sure, if you never get screwed. It can also be a good defense mechanism though. Whether I consider myself a trustworthy person or not really has nothing to do with it in my opinion. What I'm trying to say is no one should assume I'm trustworthy without really good reasons to do so. Trust is something that needs to be earned, not freely given, in my opinion. You're less apt to get burned operating from that basis.
You're right that good relationships need trust to work. My second marriage is based on trust and is an exceptional marriage ... and has been for 20 years now. And I have a few friends who I would trust with my life, because they've earned that trust over time. But nobody automatically has my trust just because they're a friend or family member. Automatically trusting someone is just asking to be used and abused.
I'm not sure why I'm aguing this out though. If you find trusting everyone works for you, go ahead. Do it. You're a better person than I am.
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I tend to agree with you, someone who you thought was your best friend could turn around and stab you in the back when you least expect it. I wouldn't go as far as to say don't trust people at all, but perhaps to just be on your toes? I suppose you have to be wronged by someone you really trusted to understand...
Not that I've really been horribly wronged by anyone; betrayed I guess would be a better word for it.