Excerpt from the book The (Honest) Truth About Dishonesty by Dan Ariely
The bottom line is that we should not view a single act of dishonesty as just one petty act. We tend to forgive people for their first offense with the idea that it is just the first time and everyone makes mistakes. And although this may be true, we should also realize that the first act of dishonesty might be particularly important in shaping the way a person looks at himself and his action from that point on-and because of that, the first dishonest act is the most important one to prevent. That is why it is important to cut down on the number of seemingly innocuous singular acts of dishonesty. If we do, society might become more honest and less corrupt over time.
~~
Sigh!
Come to think about it now, I do agree that we tend to forgive people (and ourselves) for their first offense, and at the same time we unconsciously gain the chalta-hai-attitude I guess!
Srik
The bottom line is that we should not view a single act of dishonesty as just one petty act. We tend to forgive people for their first offense with the idea that it is just the first time and everyone makes mistakes. And although this may be true, we should also realize that the first act of dishonesty might be particularly important in shaping the way a person looks at himself and his action from that point on-and because of that, the first dishonest act is the most important one to prevent. That is why it is important to cut down on the number of seemingly innocuous singular acts of dishonesty. If we do, society might become more honest and less corrupt over time.
~~
Sigh!
Come to think about it now, I do agree that we tend to forgive people (and ourselves) for their first offense, and at the same time we unconsciously gain the chalta-hai-attitude I guess!
Srik
