A few weeks ago I was helping a friend brainstorm ideas on a white piece of paper. It was taped to the white wall of our church, and we were using red and black Sharpie markers. We were worried the writing would go through and mark the wall, but our leader assured us it would not. As he began to peel the paper from the wall, he gasped and said the marker had gone through. I jumped to help him - only to find the wall spotless. I was once again labeled gullible, but this experience made me think about the true meaning of the word.

In our society, gullible people are looked down on, laughed at and not taken seriously. They are viewed as stupid and lacking common sense. Gullible people are used as a source of easy amusement, since they believe whatever they are told. An example is the classic joke, "Hey, did you know gullible is written on the ceiling?" Upon hearing this, the gullible person will immediately look up, to the delight of those who know there is nothing there. Many similar, and worse, pranks are played on gullible people. People claim this is because a gullible person doesn't mind being laughed at, but this is not true. They are hurt by teasing, just like anyone else.

As someone who is often labeled gullible, I have to wonder how true society's definition is. Could it be that the common sense gullible people lack is the cynical, pessimistic view of our world that others have? Perhaps the only fault of a gullible person is trusting others too much. Is this really a fault? I was told once that cars needed blinker fluid for their blinkers to work properly. I believed them because I didn't know any better, and had no reason not to trust them. When they found out I still believed this weeks later, they laughed at how gullible I was. The joke was played in good humor and I was able to laugh with them, but inside I felt insecure and used for a cheap laugh.

In the future I will have to be more careful about trusting even my closest friends. If people were more honest and did not constantly take advantage of those called gullible, trust could be a virtue instead of a flaw.

I never doubted my leader when he told me about the marker on the wall, and my willingness to help him only resulted in my being laughed at. My trust in friends was betrayed in the same way, leaving me cautious. I think this is unfair. People should be able to trust their friends without being taken advantage of and labeled. They should be treated with the same sensitivity as others. Trust should be something our society encourages. Gullible people deserve a closer look, for it may be that their outlook on life is better than that of most of our world.