Today's Gentleman

Whatever happened to “Gentleman’s Agreements”?  When a person’s word was their bond?

We seem to be in an age of mistrust and shallow relationships.  An age where, unless agreements are locked down in water-tight legal documents, they don’t really exist.  Even marriages with binding prenuptial agreements?

Gone are the days of being able to take a person on their word, because now-a-days there are no repercussions  for someone breaking their word.  We seem to have to go about the world with a constant veil of mistrust around us – almost assuming that everyone is lying.

Wouldn’t it be a relief to be able to meet someone at a party, in business, through a network where you knew they were a person of honour, whose word was their bond and whose actions were a reflection of the care they had for those around them?

I choose my acquaintances carefully now.  They are the people to whom words like “trust”, “respect” and “integrity” mean what they have always meant.  Not some modern day watered-down interpretation.