Proselytize
Was it the late great Harry Hamlet who said: “To Proselytize or Not To Proselytize”?
“To proselytize or not to proselytize” – It shouldn’t be the question but how often it is.
What’s mine is mine, and what’s yours is mine as well.
From the dictionary:
Proselytize
Convert or attempt to convert (someone) from one religion, belief, or opinion to another.
When a person reads the dictionary’s definition of the word “proselytize,” it really doesn’t come across as anything that bad, does it? For most of us the word’s meaning, according to the dictionary, and the way we use it in our society isn’t quite the same, is it?
The vast majority of today’s folks aren’t the least bit troubled by what some consider being outright stealing. In the world of professional sports, the term “proselytize” takes on the most detrimental of meanings. While the agreements between the owners and those who supervise the professional league’s business don’t refer to it as stealing, they nevertheless have very strong and clear verbiage regarding talking to any employee under contract to another league owner without first getting written permission to do so.
In other words, stay way from another man’s people unless that man gives you permission to talk to them with the possible intent of hiring them. And, as is the case with most business organizations, all employees are required to sign non-disclosure clauses.
Using the sport of football as an example, you might be able to fathom the impact it would have if a team got their hands on an opponent’s game plan for an upcoming encounter. The bottom line, without question, is that proselytizing is not a nice thing to be doing. It’s definitely dishonest.
What if you’re invited to dinner…. You’re enjoying the host’s cooking and experiencing great pleasure over the ingredients chosen for your repast, so much so that you decide – without asking for your host’s permission – to empty out their pantry clandestinely. (The fools turned their backs on you.) That’s called STEALING or as another word, the now well-explained: proselytizing.