I would have to say that trust is something that should be earned in the majority of our dealings with people. While there may be times when we decide to give somebody the benefit of the doubt, it would be foolish and naive to put our trust in anybody and everybody.
It's all too easy for people to fall victim to the worst side of human nature even when they are reasonably sensible and cautious. Few people would go through life without being betrayed at least once by one or more individuals they believed they had good reason to trust implicitly.
Sadly, that's life! This in itself gives us all the more reason to guard ourselves as much as possible against such let-downs, which have the potential to do us great harm in countless practical and personal ways. Having one's faith in other human beings decimated is soul-destroying and corrodes the very foundation and structure of our humanity.
Of course there have to be people and situations where we allow some flexibility in this principle of only putting our trust in those who have earned it. We can't possibly go through life on a daily basis without having to entrust ourselves, our loved ones and things that are important to us to people who haven't necessarily proven themselves worthy of that trust. At least in many situations they will not have earned it from us personally. Sometimes we have to trust that they have proven themselves in some way to somebody else - or even to a number of people in authoritative positions.
For example, when we send our children to school, we have to trust that their teachers have given authorities good reason to believe they will take good care of the children in their care. We have to trust that they are decent people and that they are well-qualified to teach our kids.
When we travel on public transport we have to trust that the person driving the bus, train or tram is fitly qualified for their task, that they are not under the influence of alcohol or drugs, and that they are of sound mind that day.
When we go into hospital for any reason we have to trust that whatever medical authorities we deal with are highly-skilled, that they take their responsibilities very seriously and that they are dependable in every way. We also have to trust the whole health system that they represent.
Tragically, such trust proves unfounded at times. But what choice do we have? We can keep our wits about us, be observant, ask pertinent questions, voice our concerns and even demand attention from higher authorities if we feel something is not being done right. However, the truth of the matter is that we must often put our trust in people who have not proven themselves to us personally - and sometimes they will prove unworthy of that trust. Believe me, I speak from devastating personal experience in this regard.
However, in many situations in life we do have a much bigger say in who we trust with our own lives, the lives of those who are dependent on us, and the things in our lives that matter most to us. The general principle should be that people ought to be expected to earn our trust to a large degree before we allow them too much influence and freedom in our lives.
Sadly, there are many individuals who are far too ready to trust anybody on face value. We see and hear about it all the time. Of course children are by nature the most vulnerable. They trust people just because they seem nice - and tragically, those they put such simple trust in sometimes turn out to be evil predators.
In these times such predators often take advantage of the fact that they can gain a child's trust so easily over the internet and lure them into their evil trap. It's even easier than ever for these monsters to disguise themselves as perfectly trustworthy, kind and genuinely friendly examples of humanity with nothing but the purest motives.
Because children are so vulnerable and cannot be expected to sense danger as keenly as an adult might, it's up to their parents and others caring for them to do their best to protect them from assaults on their trust. Also, they need to be taught the importance of being cautious and not trusting themselves to anybody and everybody.
Of course, this is a tricky lesson to teach because we do not want to make them paranoid or fearful of everyone either. Striking the right balance is a skill that can only be learned with time, experience and maturity. Unfortunately there will always be a certain percentage of people who never really learn to take appropriate care in whom they trust with their lives, their feelings and all that is important to them.
One ghastly example that was in the Australian media in the past year or two was a case of a woman who had travelled interstate on work-related business. Going out to a nearby bar in the evening, she met a man and took him back for a sexual liaison in her motel. When she taunted his performance he retaliated by killing her.
I found it hard to comprehend that a woman working at a reasonably high level for the government would be so foolish as to entrust herself to a complete stranger in such a highly-compromising and risky intimate encounter - regardless of any other issues of such behaviour.
I cannot help but wonder how commonplace such insane trust of strangers is where sexual relationships in particular are concerned. Possibly it's a relatively small percentage of those involved who pay for their incredibly misplaced trust with such dire consequences as this woman did. How many others though suffer in innumerable ways because they are too willing to trust their bodies, their hearts, their minds and their lives to somebody without any proof of their honour, integrity or indeed even their sanity?
When it comes to romance and sex, I think people are often as foolhardy as could be. It's not even always that they let their hearts rule their heads. Often I think they seem to just lose their heads altogether as they allow themselves to be ruled by some kind of primeval instincts. They rush headlong into dangerous situations before they have even got anywhere near falling in love.
There's a very old, wise saying that "fools rush in where angels fear to tread". Sadly, this seems to be particularly true in relation to the most intimate of relationships. We may be wary about having casual conversation with somebody sitting at the bus stop, particularly if they look a bit odd. Many people will be reluctant to stop and help somebody on the street for fear they will be attacked. Yet they may meet somebody at a nightclub or a party and be living with them the next week. How can that person have earned their trust adequately in such a limited space of time?
Then there are those we hear about in the media who have become the victims of serial lovers. You know the type that has numerous women he's conned. He often has a number of them on the go at the one time and manages to juggle them all while each one thinks she's his one and only. Usually he cons all their savings out of them and often has children to them all along the way. One has to ask why these women are so trusting? Why do they not "smell a rat" as my mother would have put it?
Likewise, even adults prove to be very unwary where intimate internet relationships are involved. We have all heard examples of people who have had internet romances and have even left marriages and moved to the other side of the world - only to find their internet lover was not the person they believed him or her to be.
Then the other area in which people can often be too trusting is where money is concerned. Most of us have been bombarded by the internet scams that flood into the average email inbox. It's just incredible how many predators are out there seeking out those who are too willing to trust in anybody and anything that offers a quick way to get rich.
One wonders why they bother. Surely by now everybody must have heard about them and recognize these scams for what they are. They are so blatantly obvious. But it seems there are still those who are being conned all the time. The dollar signs go "ker-ching" in front of their eyes and their common sense flies out the window. So as long as the scam artists know they might even score just a few victims from the countless people they send their messages to, it's worth their while.
These are, of course, extreme examples. A lot of us like to think we're much wiser than that - and probably a considerable percentage are. Many of us just hope we don't get conned and/or betrayed in a major way that leaves us feeling like complete idiots and/or utterly devastated.
Nevertheless, it's apparent there are a big percentage of people who do award their trust to others far too easily. These individuals may be hurt badly time and again. They may be walked all over, even stomped on (figuratively speaking, at least), yet they continue the same pattern throughout their lives. Often this has a lot to do with their pitifully low self-esteem.
At the other extreme there are a small percentage of people who trust nobody. They are often bitter, twisted individuals and never get close to anybody. In the middle there are those who are reasonably shrewd and cautious, yet still have close, warm and healthy relationships.
All of us need to be constantly assessing people as best we can for their trustworthiness. After all, the fact is that we do have to trust many people day by day without giving them the third degree and examining their credentials. Yet we will inevitably be let down by some.
Then there are others we will trust because we feel they have earned it - and still some will fail us at times. Life and humanity is complex. We cannot live life fully and allow ourselves the experience of rich relationships without also opening ourselves to the possibility of having our faith betrayed sometimes along the way.
So it's only wise that we do the best we can to increase our perception, wisdom and people skills as much as we can. That way hopefully we can minimise the times we are let down.