by Linda Schreiber

Created on: January 30, 2009

WHO CAN YOU TRUST? The business world is hurting and the country's economy is very ill. I think the patient needs a doctor, a New Age Specialist who can treat the cause not the symptoms. Some of the symptoms are lack of credit, loss of jobs, loss of homes, the list is endless. Economists are saying the cause is lack of trust. Banks don't even want to lend to banks anymore. If you cannot trust a bank, who can you trust?

In the field of medicine when new doctors enter their professions they take an oath, the Hippocratic Oath, an oath that has been taken for over 2000 years. They promise to "hold yourselves far aloof from wrong, from corruption, from the tempting of others to vice." They have taken an oath of honor. A doctor who does not meet these standards can surely be called a hypocrite and should not be trusted.
There appears to be a lack of Hippocratic honor and too much hypocrisy. Honor has long been the hallmark for the good' person. There was a time in which a simple gentleman's agreement would suffice to conduct a business transaction. A gentleman's agreement relies upon the honor of the parties for its fulfillment, but it is not technically enforceable. In recent years the concept of honor in too many business dealings has gone by the wayside. It might be an ideal, but it is not a reality. Yet men, women and even children continue to take oaths of honor, such as in the military, in public service and in Boy Scouts.
We know these days that to get it in writing' seals the deal and makes our agreements into legally binding contracts. Our society has developed a system of laws and justice to insure that citizens can do business in a civilized way. We have laws to insure that going beyond a handshake and a gentleman's agreement will protect our rights and property from unscrupulous dealings and from dishonorable people. One of my favorite sayings says it clearly. "Justice is man's law and law is man's justice." In other words, in order to have justice, we must have laws, whether we like it or not.
Something has gone awry. The patient is ill and getting sicker. Citizens are no longer protected by law from unscrupulous business practices. People are losing their pensions and life savings. There are predators everywhere trying to take advantage. We no longer know who we can trust. What happened?
Who can you trust when the laws designed to protect you no longer work or have taken away? How can you invest in a business that treats your investment like a private bank

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