...trust

The high cost of lying and deception by politicians and police, corporate executives and clergy, and journalists, accountants, and educators has weakened every major social institution.

As each of these professions wages its separate battle to remove the cloud of suspicion and cynicism that hovers over it, there are certain truths about trust that must be understood and dealt with.

1. there's no shortcut to building trust. In fact, rebuilding trust on the rubble of lost credibility is much harder. The antidote is nothing less than scrupulous and consistent honesty—especially when the truth is costly.
2. where trust is important, there are no small lies. In some ways, lies, however trivial they may seem, are like germs. Without the antibody of trust, they cause infections that can kill credibility.
3. the lethal quality of lies lasts long after they're told. Even lies told years ago can have an immediate poisonous effect on trust when they're discovered. Think of all the prominent people who've been undone by the discovery of falsehoods on old resumes.
4. while honesty and forthrightness may not always pay dividends, dishonesty and concealment always cost. In some settings, nothing good may come of admitting wrongdoing, but it can get a lot worse if you don't.
5. lies breed other lies. It's harder to tell just one lie than to have just one potato chip. Once you start lying, it takes an ever-growing bodyguard of new falsehoods to protect the old ones.

Don't be seduced by the "fight fire with fire" excuse or all you'll end up with are the ashes of your integrity. Self-justifications aside, you can't lie to a liar or cheat a cheater without becoming a liar or cheater.

-character count