Sutphen, additionally, said this about Carnegie techniques, “If you use Carnegie techniques to win friends, the friendship has to be based upon a two-way manipulation. You pretend to be the mask to attain friendship and they will be your friend as long as you wear it. What happens when your mask slips and they find out who you really are? Do you need any relationship or association so badly that you’re willing to repress your real self in order to attain it?” Many would answer YES – they have a mortgage to pay, and must wear the mask in order to stay employed. Sutphen was an independent businessman and had more freedom in that regard. What is Creator’s perspective?

Despite his personal freedom to not be dependent on others to the extent many, many are, who work for a living and rely on others for their support and backing, we agree with his assessment as a general description of the moral considerations involved with fooling others as a way of operating to maintain one's status, whether it be employment, leadership of a group, or a personal relationship. In a sense, everyone has encounters where they want to make a good impression, and so will put their best foot forward, so to speak, to display themselves and their talents to best advantage so they make a good impression and at least establish their credentials potentially, for inspection. This is a time-honored custom, that not only makes the self look good but is considered a token of respect in honoring the value of others, to do one's best to be cordial and a pleasing presence and experience with any encounter, at least with the first introduction. In a sense, this is a kind of customary test of character, refinement, intelligence, and maturity, but that is not the same thing as truly putting on a mask to fool someone into thinking you are better than you are. After all, when you put your best foot forward, it is still your foot. So if you dress nicely, wear makeup, take extra care to have your shoes shined, and so on, you are not lying that you possess a wardrobe and know how to keep it in good condition, and these are small matters compared to the higher virtues people grow to depend on among their friends and workmates, let alone life partners or comrades in arms. The danger is, as we have been discussing with you, that when a false front is created, it is perpetuating a lie that can come back to haunt a person and will always, in some way, represent a liability for both parties, whether it is recognized for what it represents or someone gets away with the mask-wearing for the duration, because the Law of Karma will know and it will seek a reckoning, eventually, for such misrepresentations. There are many who feel compelled to be more of an actor than genuine in their relationships. That, too, is a slippery slope because the more dependent you become for such relationships, the more you are trapped in living as an imposter, and that can take a toll from a build-up of inner stress, because of the uncertainty of your situation if you are found to be wanting at some point along the way if you are seen without the mask inadvertently, and people begin to question your worth or validity in how you conduct yourself. So it is quite true that any false compact, through a misrepresentation, will begin to develop a kind of personal and karmic debt that builds and builds over time to increase both the burden it represents to be maintained indefinitely and the liability from that day of reckoning that will come eventually, if not in the current life, in a subsequent lifetime.