In Bad Faith
There are a few quotations that I have recently learned, or decided, to take to heart.
One of them:
In failing circumstances, no-one can be relied on to keep their integrity.
-Ralph Waldo Emerson
It's a long story, and probably not one I should relate in a public space, considering there is a lawsuit pending. Suffice it to say, some people were dishonest with me, and now I have found no recourse but to take them to court over the matter.
There is money at stake, but in truth the money is not my primary concern. I dealt with these people in good faith, relying on the honor system to keep everything going smoothly. I suppose that's something of a laughable sentiment these days, but I didn't want to be one of those people that demand written affidavits for every agreement they make. I feel like it needs to be shown to these people that there are consequences for their actions, and that responsibilities should be dealt with honestly and fairly. A lesson, perhaps, that they should have learned in elementary school.
I have decided to go to court even though there is no definitive proof for my case, on the basis of the sentiment described by Sophocles: "Better to fail with honor than succeed by fraud."
I feel like even if I lose the case in court, I will at least have tried to right the situation. Additionally, if the expense and inconvenience of having to go to court makes these people think twice the next time they feel like reneging on a promise or contract, then it will have restored some small measure of the karmic balance.
I am, perversely, gaining no small amount of entertainment from the situation. These people feel they have been wronged by me, possibly by the simple expedient of recognising their duplicity for what it was. I find it not unamusing to observe them raging and storming against the perceived injustices I have done them. It brings to mind another quotation:
People who are brutally honest get more satisfaction out of the brutality than out of the honesty.
-Richard J Needham