ed
to take the car by himself wherever he liked?

Does it make any difference to him whether he breaks a promise--to his
mother and father?

He can say to himself that it is only a natural fussiness on their part,
and as they are not in the car, they won't know anything about it.

But sooner or later they do know about it; such things nearly always
have a way of coming to light. It is an old saying which has been very
generally confirmed that, in the long run, "the truth will out." One of
the girls in the car tells somebody how fast they went and that somebody
refers to it before others until it gets to the boy's mother and
father. What harm to the boy? A little scolding, perhaps, and a
repetition of the warning and the promise?

That's only the superficial consequence. There is a deeper and more
remote one. The parents' confidence in their boy receives a shock. The
boy can't always be trusted to keep his word. Also he is inclined to be
reckless and irresponsible.

The parents have always idolized the boy; the father has never ceased
looking forward to the day when he could turn over to his son a big
share of his responsibilities and see him carry on the name and prestige
of the family. It is the most natural and fondest hope that fathers
have.

This hope begins to be undermined when the boy does something which
shows that he cannot be trusted. If he will break his word and take a
reckless chance, merely for the sake of gratifying a trivial
inclination, what is to keep him from doing so, on other occasions for
the same reason? The same spirit and the same point-of-view are certain
to find repeated opportunities for the same sort of irresponsible
conduct.

When, in the course of time, the realization of this finally comes home
to the mother and father, the consequences, although remote, are apt to
be extremely serious for all concerned--including the boy.

His character is irresponsible and untrustworthy. His word, or promise,
is of no account--he cannot be counted on to keep it. That has been
proved by his conduct--unmistakably.

What the harm is to an individual of developing a character of this
kind--or a lack of character--is a big and fairly complicated subject
which is apparently not much considered by up-to-date young people, who
are satisfied to judge things from the point-of-view of selfishness and
personal experience. It may be left for discussion later on.

The harm to mother and father and member