“Trust” no longer has a place in todays society

What happened to the days of “trust”? I remember a time when you could trust people to do the right thing. A day when you were trusted with a shake of the hand or just with some simple words like, “I will take care of that for you” or “No problem what-so-ever”.

Your neighbor was considered part of the fold and trusted to watch over you and yours and visa versa. It was like one large family extension and you knew that if your kids caused or got into trouble your family extension would make sure you knew about it. A time that if a stranger was around they were closely watched by everyone. A time when you would have lots of “Tool Time” conversations over and around the fence. A time when a gathering meant not just your immediate family, but eveyone on the block.

There was a time when you could take your car to the local gas station and you could trust the mechanic to, not only give you full service but he knew your car so well that he would know when something was wrong with it. You could trust them not to pull a fake, unneeded repair or try to sell you things you didn’t need. By the way, for the younger crowd, full service meant they would not only pump your gas for you, but also check your oil, water and transmission fluids and check your tire pressure, wash your windows (inside and out) while you waited… for free. You never had to get out of your car and you could trust the guy simply because you knew them or even better their whole family. I remember my local gas station would show you the levels and the conditions of the oil or tranny fluids just to give you ease of mind.

Nowadays, you have to pre-pay for your gas if using cash, pay outrageous prices for it and check all those things yourself AND you have to pay for air and vaccumm services. You have to ask for things, instead of them being offered to you. I am betting that half the worlds cashiers couldn’t count out proper change if they didn’t have the register tell them ahead of time what change to give back. If you don’t receive the proper change trust falls right through the cracks again… by either having to wait on a supervisor or a shift change to get the proper amount returned to you.

I remember the days of trust thy neighbor and fellow man. I remember the days of sealing a deal with a handshake and it was law. I remember the days of your word being the founding stone of every day life. Now you can’t trust anyone (including immediate family) and every deal (including marriage) has to be sealed with a contract.

I personally cannot trust one of my own immediate family members. I have had that simple faith abused and maligned too numerous times to count. As long as I can remember I always trusted until proven otherwise. It has been my downfall; again, too many times to count. I still have enough faith that I will probably continue to trust people… until my final days. But, I can say without misgivings that there are those (they may be few in number, but they steadfastly hold my heart and soul in their hands) that I trust completely and will always trust.

What has happened to society in general that trust no longer has a place? Are there just so many of us that we can no longer keep up with the Joneses or the Smiths and we just can’t know our neighbors anymore because of the sheer volume of man? Or is it something else lacking in the human spirit that causes such misplaced faith in the human soul?

Just this week a woman was accosted not 2 or 3 miles from my home while jogging. Countless others have died by the hands of others all across what was once a great land. What posseses man to be so evil? Is it because slowly but surely our rights are being removed by a “overly involved” government? Is it because we parents no longer have rights to take care of our own misguided youth?

I know a perfect world has never truly existed but one would like to believe that trust can come back into its own. Where your word is law and binding handshakes can still exist.