Betrayal

Introduction

The betrayal is defined as the giving up, delivering enemies or betray the confidence of a group (religious or political), a person (friend, lover, family) and / or principles (moral, or other ). There are different degrees in the betrayal, the common point is to break a loyalty. The epithet of "traitor" was often used for political purposes, particularly after a civil war or insurrection, the winners being careful to designate the vanquished as traitors. Commonly associated with the traitor Judas . The word traitor is used more generally to denote the author of a betrayal, it is the popular image of the stab in the back. Read a newspaper on any given day and you will find examples of betrayal by leaders, including political leaders. The multiple betrayals used to sell the Iraq War are a particular egregious and tragic example, but we can find everyday examples in ethics violations and cover-ups of wrong doing. Such betrayal could not exist without being enabled by constituents, employees, or the general public, either willingly or due to lack of awareness (Lee, 100 - 200).

Although betrayal is pervasive, it has not received the scholarly attention it deserves, to everyone's detriment. Clarifying concepts and issues surrounding this topic may assist some people in being more resistant to betrayal—as either the potential deceiver or the potential deceived. This paper will be focusing on the thesis mentioned below. Different aspects mentioned in the thesis will be explained in the discussion part of the paper.

Thesis Statement

Betrayal is the violation or breaking of a presumptive trust, confidence,or contract that creates psychological and moral disagreement in a relations between two parties.

Discussion

Not all betrayal is intentional. An unintentional act of betrayal results when the deceiver conveys something that the deceived believes is true. Such betrayal can occur for at least four reasons: (1) because of a falsehood that was passed on to the deceiver, (2) because of self-betrayal, (3) because the person didn't remember correctly, or (4) because of lack of knowledge. People are often quick to judge someone as a liar when in fact the person may have misjudged the situation (Lee, 100 - 200).

Unknowingly passing on a falsehood is one type of unintentional betrayal. Scott McClellan (2008), former press secretary for President George W. Bush, provides an example in his book, What Happened: Inside the Bush White House and Washington's Culture of Betrayal. He tells how President Bush's aide, Karl Rove, and Vice President Dick Cheney's aide, Scooter Libby, deceived him and, as a result, deceived the American public at a press conference. The matter involved whether or not Rove and Libby were involved in leaking information to the press about Valerie Plame's identity as a CIA operative who was undercover. Libby and Rove assured McClellan they had not been involved, although they had, even if they were not the primary source of the leak. Libby was eventually convicted of perjury in the matter, and Rove carefully crafted revised testimony about his role in the matter that ...