General Studies Mains-2014 Paper-4 (Ethics and Integrity) Answer : Q-5-A

The current society is plagued with widespread trust deficit. What are the consequences of this situation for personal well-being and for societal well-being? What can you do at the personal level to make yourself trustworthy?

We, as a people and a society, have become less trusting in others. This can be attributed to the deterioration of moral and ethical standards and lack of interpersonal connections in today’s world. Cases of fraud and deception are common and well-publicised, thus making us question everyone we meet. Earlier, people took time to get to know their neighbours etc.; but this is rare in today’s world thus leading to less trust between persons. Lack of trust makes us a broken society, where people don’t trust or have faith in each other. This is alarming when it’s time for our society to take a stand as a whole. At the personal level, lack of trust fosters the feeling of loneliness and makes us question the actions of others. The more we trust others, and share, the more fulfilled and content our lives are.

At the personal level, I try to stay true to my own words to foster a feeling of trust. I make an effort to get to know my colleagues and neighbours so that I may know and trust at least the persons I’m physically close to.