ch6/p3

I think the topic of trust was really interesting.

As children, we are raised to not trust strangers (which is obviously GREAT advice), but I think we are taught to automatically trust those around us too. This is a slippery slope, in my opinion, because it isn't healthy to not have any trust in anyone, but I think you do have to watch your back in a lot of ways.

I think it's interesting how people sort of just give their trust away, when, in my eyes, it should be earned. Interestingly enough, I don't always make people earn my trust. For example, if I am hanging out with someone I don't know extremely well, I might go ahead and tell them intimate details about my life if I feel comfortable, even though I don't really know what kind of person they are, or what they will do with that information. I think people who know they are trustworthy tend to give others the same credit, because that's what I think I do.

This kind of made me wonder if perhaps people use trust to have power in relationships. For example, if I know someone has a lot of "dirt" on me, I might be less likely to rub them the wrong way in fear that they might expose some personal information about me. I think it's interesting because I know this is something I would never do. Even for people I don't consider to be my friend anymore, I still have a respect for them, which is hard, because I know this isn't reciprocated.