By Ibrahim Careys
When was the last time that you were slandered? Can you remember when someone spread a vicious lie about you?
Do you remember how powerless you felt? Caroline recalls that she was so angry when her friend Emma spread a false rumour about her that she vowed to revenge. Some of their friends believed Emma’s lies and turned their backs on Caroline.
It is true that often, the people we love most are the ones that hurt us most. These are character assassins that enjoy dragging other people’s names through the mud for no good reason.
A person’s character is his most prized possession. It is uniquely his and what defines him as a person. When you engage in character assassination, you are cold-bloodedly destroying someone’s most precious possession.
Character assassins, or more aptly, reputation executioners, attempt to destroy people’s reputations and the love and respect that they have earned just to keep others down. Perhaps they want their victims to fail in life and lead miserable lives.
When Emma went around telling people that Caroline was having an adulterous affair with a wealthy MP, Caroline’s reputation was destroyed.
The truth was that Caroline had recently been promoted at work and was putting in long hours in the workplace. That is why her friends did not see her often. Her promotion came with a car loan and so she bought a car. Of course Emma said that Caroline slept with the MP for the car.
Character assassins are dangerous, venomous people. Whether at the workplace or in the street, they pretend to be your friend but stab you in the back when you least expect it.
Enraged
Emma knew of Caroline’s promotion and how she got the car. Perhaps she was so enraged by jealousy, she felt she had to stop Caroline in her upwardly mobile tracks. I don’t know why some people strive to be bad while they can be good; or why they would rather cause chaos than bring peace in people’s lives and their communities.
I don’t know why someone would want to harbour the painful and unhealthy emotions of malice, hate, wickedness and malevolence in their hearts rather than the pleasant and healthy emotions of love, appreciation and pride in someone’s genuine achievements.
But I do know most of us would rather be a force of good in our friends’ lives than one of evil.
If Emma had been proud of Caroline instead of being jealous, she would not have wreaked havoc on relationships and reputations. She would not have been ostracised when the truth came out. Caroline and the gang would not have lost trust in her. Emma gained nothing from assassinating Caroline’s character.
This week make it a point to build someone’s character rather than assassinate it. Praise positive qualities in a person you have been criticising.
Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.
—ibcareys@yahoo.com
—
