From my study of business law years ago, I remember that contracts are only valid if both parties understand the contents of the contract. Laws have been enacted that allow unilateral cancellation of certain contracts within a number of days of signing to make sure all parties understand the effects of the contract. One of the purposes of these and other statutory protections is to prevent one party from taking advantage of another through deception.
Deception is simply defined as the act of deceiving or misleading. I suppose that act could be unintentional but in most cases there is a purpose. Years ago I purchased a vehicle from a classified ad in the newspaper. When I inspected the vehicle, the owner told me is was in good condition. After trusting his words, I found out later the engine had so many problems it needed to be misplaced! Yes, I was naive. I should have had the car checked out by a mechanic. Instead, I trusted the owner and was deceived.
You may be aware that this same situation is happening to us every day in our government. Leaders we should be able to trust are telling us how good proposed legislation will be for us as they rush to make it law before anyone, including members of congress, has time to read and understand its contents. Politicians, many of them lawyers, are voting on bills designed along party lines that they have not read in detail. With a means justifies the end attitude, the current administration is passing legislation that is more than deceptive, some of its provisions are evil!
If you don't believe me, consider just two examples. First, the Cash for Clunkers bill seems like a good deal since a lot of people get new cars. To reduce the use of fossil fuels, we're told, the older vehicles and all their parts are being destroyed. While many lower income families don't have transportation to get them to work, these "clunkers" (many of which are in decent running condition!) are being demolished. Then there is the debt on the new car. Credit got this nation into the problem we face, so more credit is going to get us out? Right. Oh, don't forget the clause in the bill that requires every computer used by dealers to file for the rebates to become government property! No deception here!
Do you have the stomach for one more example? I think most of us, regardless of political affiliation, would like to see health care for everyone. That would be good. So when we hear politicians talking about how good government-run health care will be, we trust they have our best interests at heart. In fact, we trust them so much we don't read the bill and fight to the death with anyone that is critical of its contents. One read of even a summary of the bill will reveal that the government, now our god, has the power over life and death--ours! Killing the young and the old will now be powers of bureaucrats under government-run health care! Among the many limitations of freedom in the bill, you'll also find the requirement for each of us to provide our personal banking information, along with electronic funds transfer authorization, to the highly-reliable voter registration organization, ACORN!
Here's how I see the progression: Failure to conduct the affairs of business, politics and personal lives ethically has bred unethical behavior as a norm. Most unethical behavior is supported by deception. Eventually, deception gives birth to blatant evil. Has this happened to our nation? You be the judge!
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