Smiling Through Crosshairs

I've been told the greatest trick the Devil ever pulled was convincing the world he didn't exist. If I was to ever meet the Devil, I bet he'd smile, shake my hand, and tell me everything I wanted to hear.

I read a story about a chap afflicted with a terminal illness who desired the hand of a fair maiden and had to compete with a strapping young lad for it, so he fetched some belladonna for his eyes and skin cream for his face, and fixed himself to project the appearance of virility. When it came time to ponder the outcome, it was said that, though the fair maiden may be disappointed by the premature death of her mate, she may take some solace in knowing those clever genes of his will be passed down to her offspring.

Suffice to say, this tale shed new light on my interpretation of Charles Darwin's Natural Selection. At the risk of trampling some toes, I wish to now revisit the mating ritual - the human mating ritual, that is - particularly its evolutionary explanation. You see, faithful reader, it is said the female of the species seeks stability from her mate, given the enormous parental investment required from her; one who is able to provide for the children is more likely to ensure their survival. The successful suitor, more often than not, puts on a convincing performance in order to win the lady's hand, but the story does not necessarily have a happy ending: too frequently, the road takes a tumultuous turn, leading me to believe this extravagant showing by the male is but a lie; however, upon reading the story above, it dawned on me: in this cold, cruel world of ours, deception is necessary for survival.

Before I continue, I will use this opportunity to apologize to those I may have inadvertently offended with my depiction of mating from an evolutionary perspective. Should you have any issue with the words I have chosen, my comment box is always open and never censored (not by me, that is). Feel free to make use of it, if you so desire to enflict a verbal thrashing upon me for my callousness.

Now, returning to the matter at hand...

I spent the better part of the last three and a half years as a bit-part player within a vast corporate framework, and have thus borne witness to deception as a means of survival. Let us begin at the act of seeking employment, at the sliding of the proverbial foot in the door: how does the successful candidate distance her/himself from her/his competition? Is honesty the best policy here? What if the candidate's skills do not place her/him a cut above the rest? Worse, what if said skills are perceived as inferior to the rest? Will the candidate, having made it this far, wave the white flag and concede defeat, thus losing out on that lucrative salary and all those glorious benefits, or will treachery be employed?

How about that promotion? For that extra five thousand dollars a year, how likely is the employee to concede to a colleague superior in knowledge and skill set? Better yet, how about making the sale? Or delivering that progress report to the client or superordinate? Or those days when you feign illness because you just can't bring yourself to drag that worn-down body of yours into the office for another day of the boss breathing over your shoulder and barking in your year? Or the lamp you broke as a child, then blamed it on the cat so as to avoid the wrath of your parents?

We common folk are not the only ones who employ deception, oh no! Are your favourite television personalities as perky off-camera as they appear on your screen? How about that CEO you see posing for photographs with your favourite charity? Or the politicians you help elect: did honesty get them where they are? do they really have your well-being at heart? Does your favourite newspaper give you the straight goods on the world's happenings? Does your food supplier tell you what went into what you're about to eat?

I remember a story I saw on television a few years back about a woman with six children, if I recall correctly, desperately seeking employment, though opting against welfare as a matter of preserving her baby bonus. She was offered a larger home by her landlord; if she put forth the effort to clean the place, she would be rewarded with one month's rent free. After holding up her end of the bargain, the landlord quickly demanded the rent he had initially promised to cover. When she declined, citing their agreement, she ended up before the judge, who ruled in favour of the landlord on account of her inability to provide concrete evidence of his agreeing to foot the bill for the first month. Sadly, she and her six children ended up evicted, forced to live in tents in the backyard of a relative. The story did have a pleasant ending, as she was successful in landing a job, and they at securing a new home.

I'll never forget her closing remarks, which I shall now paraphrase: As a mother, all she wanted was to teach her children the value of honesty, but she was deceived by her landlord, who subsequently got away with it, then had to deceive her employer in order to be hired, then had to deceive her prospective landlord to secure the lease (I believe she said she only had two or three children, as opposed to six). She concluded by asking what she was supposed to tell her children now.

What do we say to our children? Is honesty really the best policy? How can I tell my child to always be truthful, then lie when the time comes to find a place to live or make her/himself some money? that nearly everyone s/he meets will lie to her/him if said person has something to gain by doing so? If this is what is required for survival, is this a world in which I want to live, in which I want to bring children? Is this the way it has to be, forever plagued by egocentrism?

Here we are, trying to survive the hustle, finding ourselves hustling to survive.