Column for Sept. 13, 2007

Desiring the honest, despising the false

Today I had a couple of contractors at my house fixing problems left by a dishonest businessman. When I bought my house here in Selma, I found that the seller never disclosed the fact that the air conditioning system was in need of replacement. This violated our contract for purchase, but I had no idea until I was moved in and living here for a while. I eventually paid to replace the system with a new one. The contractor I hired was dishonest in that his license as an HVAC contractor was suspended, yet he sold me a system anyway. Because his license was not valid, he did not get the town to issue a permit for the work. I eventually had to go to an administrative hearing to testify against this contractor.

This man was given the opportunity to rectify his work, which was sub-par and would not pass inspection, anyway. He took a lot of shortcuts and left code violations. He also left old, abandoned air conditioning registers open, never having sealed them. Today, I had those removed, sealed, as well as some other work being done around the house. Much of the work being performed was because people were dishonest in their business dealings.

This is not new to me. I have dealt with dishonest people quite a bit just this year. I had dishonest people emailing me about positions I have stated in this column or on the internet who have twisted what I had written into something I did not say and insist it is the case. I have had people put up web sites just for the sole purpose of showing hatred for me. Yeah, it actually happened. I have had men who claim to be of good report fabricate stories about me, my dealings with them, and all for the purpose of self justification. According to The Sermon on the Mount, I must be blessed.

I have been talking to several people who have seen their long time spouses be deceitful and literally spread lies about them. Just yesterday, I was fellowshipping with a local pastor whose wife recently left him after being seduced by the dark side of The Force to follow after her own ways. I have seen this a lot with different people and simply fail to comprehend the lack of fidelity.

There have been many shady deals that have been perpetrated upon the citizens of North Carolina. We were told we would pay for schools with a lottery and then we have bond referendums and now tax hike referendums for the same purposes. We have seen national shame come upon the state and specifically, three men at Duke University because of one dishonest man with an agenda. We got the lottery because of a dishonest political play in the state legislature. We got a budget surplus because of over taxation and then the state dishonestly kept the overage to spend on pet projects. We were told that additional school spending would raise test scores but recent results published in within the past week or two show the opposite. All of this does not even get into bribery and corruption scandals associated with Jim Black.

Once in a while, I run across an honest man. Recently, I paid a business to perform a service for me. I got exactly what was promised, for the amount promised, and even earlier than promised. I may have paid more than I would have with other companies, but I got a quality product from an honest man.

I wish that sort of honesty would transcend the world in business, personal relationships, and government. One of my biggest pet peeves in life is being lied to. Lying is what got Bill Clinton impeached. He did not get convicted in the Senate, but he was still impeached. Being dishonest does not pay dividends in the long run. I expect and demand honesty from my friends, family, business dealings, and my government officials. You should, as well. Sure, I expect worldly people to act like the world does, but that does not mean that I should not demand honesty. I don't know about you, but I am very tired of being lied to by the media, government, and people in general, hence this rant. It may seem like a personal "bone to pick", but it really is just a general frustration lately with so much dishonesty coming from so many directions and from so many sources.

Just last week, I found a deal on some "best of" CD collections, so I picked up some Billy Joel and ABBA (yes, I am actually old enough to remember and enjoy them) which were missing from my music collection. One song from the collection by Billy Joel that has been going through my head for a week is "Honesty". I leave you with the chorus to that classic song.

Honesty is such a lonely word
Everyone is so untrue
Honest is hardly ever heard
And mostly what I need from you