I saw a feel-good movie over the weekend. It was the kind you come away from feeling good about humanity again. It was just the fix I needed after coming off of a week where I had heard and seen too many individuals and businesses taking advantage of and exploiting others.

It started with my father, who lives in SC, sharing a story about his girlfriend who was almost taken for $6500 for a hearing aid that was completely unnecessary. Selling an older woman something she didn’t need for pure financial gain is not really a new scam, is it? 

However, it’s not just the elderly being scammed. Amoral people love to exploit the weaknesses of others. Whether it’s for financial gain or for some unprincipled personal fulfillment, we see it every day.

Maybe social media has made us more aware of the corruptness around us. What happened to decency? Everyone has weaknesses. Some have more than others, and if these weaknesses that could be targeted aren’t obvious now, they will be so eventually as we too age.

We all have a choice: We can let our weaknesses teach us empathy, or we can become bullies, con artists, and bottom feeders. How we treat other people and their vulnerabilities reveals our true character. Regardless of what we see around us, it’s essential that we hold tight to being wholly ethical in the practices of our personal lives and in our businesses!

(By the way, that feel-good movie was “Peanut Butter Falcon.”)

Work hard, be productive, and above all else stay positive.

 
Peggy White
Executive Director
Pulaski County Chamber of Commerce
peggywhite@pulaskichamber.info