We live in a world, in which all sorts of business so conducted as well as social interactions engaged in are increasingly becoming more anonymous, as well as far opaquer; in which, far less frequently are these transactions, open and above table, especially compared to what it was back in the day. There are obvious problems with that, because those that wear literal masks or figurative ones, are not the same sort of entity as those that are transparent and open. For an absolute certainty, anonymity is often the refuge of scoundrels, and while that doesn’t mean that all those that have taken on a hidden identity are up to no good, it does mean that the trust level so generated from one fake persona to another, is going to be rather low. In point of fact, it’s difficult to trust anyone or any organization, if the true identity or objective of such, is obscure or hidden. Further to the point, when one party is open and forthcoming, whereas the other party does not reciprocate, in kind, this does not bode well for that becoming a trusting type of relationship.
The best way for any relationship to be reciprocal and trusting is for both parties to have a sincere interest in the other. Certainly, one of the ways that trust is generated, is primarily because the people or the organization so conducting business are already familiar one with another, having previously established a relationship, with a good understanding of what each party values, in turn. A relationship of value does necessitate a true meeting of minds, in which, both parties have a fair understanding of each other’s needs and desires, and try to accommodate one another for mutual benefit.
Regrettably, today’s world seems to be sliding ever faster into far more incivility, made so much easier, because of the anonymity of the multitude of forums available for people to express themselves, and the salient fact that apparently those that are anonymous, need not overly worried about ever being exposed upon it. That type of interaction, is often not going to be healthy, because the type of person or organization that gravitates to such, typically doesn’t have the other’s best interest in mind, but rather cares more about being irresponsible and propagating their own agenda.
Trust is built upon each party knowing the other; that doesn’t mean though, that they have to be perfectly honest or even upstanding all of time; but rather this reflects that they represent at a minimum to each other, a known quantity with known foibles and known merits. Additionally, trust is built on not only reciprocity, but on the implied understanding that each party has a desire to keep that relationship, intact, because they value it. Those that are in it only for the short term, or by their inclinations are mercurial, so that they essentially cannot ever be successfully pinned down – aren’t going to be trustworthy, they aren’t going to be true, and thus they represent something that is not really deserving of our time and effort, because they have not done their good part to be a responsible person to us, preferring instead to be irresponsible, and therefore unworthy of our trust.