I would like to speak about a very bitter experience in my life when I was deceived by a person. This person was an Insurance dealer with whom I had done some transaction earlier. One fine day, he came to me and introduced a lucrative investment opportunity to me. It was a Finance company which invited people to invest in its ventures and assured them of high returns on their investment.
He explained the features of the scheme to me and tried to paint a rosy picture of the company and its dealings to me. He also had some brochures which had great statistical evidence of the company’s achievements. He kept insisting and I remained reluctant to invest for a long time, though.
After almost two hours, I finally gave in to his repeated requests and assured him that I would go for it. The next day, I signed a cheque for the assured amount which was indeed a huge investment considering my financial status at the time. The Insurance dealer was beside himself with joy. I could see the joy he experienced at having struck such a meaty deal.
I carried on with my daily work and to my utter surprise I got the assured return at the end of the first month. I was overjoyed and even began planning on how I would spend the money every month. I was unaware that tragedy would strike in the next month. I didn’t get my cheque in the next month on the assured date. I decided to wait for a week and then another passed without any news.
I called up the broker and he asked me to be patient. It was almost the third month and I spent sleepless nights waiting for my returns. After a few days, I read in the local newspapers that the broker had duped many residents in my town and had absconded. The residents formed a union to air their grievances to the authorities but ultimately, it was of no avail.
Vocabulary:
- Lucrative- producing a lot of money.
- Ventures- a new activity, usually in business, that involves risk or uncertainty.
- Meaty- having a lot of important or interesting ideas.
- Absconded- to go away suddenly and secretly in order to escape from somewhere.
- Grievances- a complaint or a strong feeling that you have been treated unfairly.
Part 3 Follow Up - Questions & Answers
1. Do you think telling White lies is acceptable sometimes?
White lies can have a compound effect. You tell one small lie and get away with it and then are more likely to do the same in the future. Lying is a learned behaviour and I think that if a white lie requires additional white lies then you should tell the truth.
2. Do you think honesty is the only important quality that should be in a person?
Honesty leads to a fulfilling, free life. In my perspective, it promotes openness and empowers us and enables us to develop self confidence. It allows us to observe everything around us with clarity.
3. Do you think children should be taught honesty in young age?
I believe it’s highly important for them to understand the value of telling the truth. Its only when they are taught the difference between good and evil in their formative years, it will be reinforced and will become a inseparable part of their character. First of all, it’s important for them to realize that telling lies prevents their parents from helping them in the most appropriate way.
4. Do you think being completely honest all times can be not good?
In my opinion, it's important to remember that honesty is usually the best policy, so don't make a habit out of lying your way through life. But if you come upon a situation where being honest might cause more problems than its worth — and withholding the truth won't hurt anybody — then consider it fine.
5. Why do people lie sometimes?
Well, in my viewpoint, while some people who lie want to protect the feelings of others and spare someone else pain or hurt, many people lie to protect their own feelings, self-esteem, self-confidence, or other personal emotion.
6. How would you define white lies?
White lie is a lie about a small or unimportant matter that someone tells to avoid hurting another person. For instance, telling a white lie as an excuse for missing the party thrown by a best friend.
7. Some people say liars are those who have a good memory, what do you think?
Liars have a good memory. Good liars can remember the tiniest of details to keep themselves from contradicting their previous lies. A particularly good liar needs many things, but the primary one, I think, is an excellent memory.
