Are there situations when it's OK to break a promise?
Tom @ the BNC
18 October 2019
In this issue, we'll be writing the THINKING QUESTIONS from Session TWO as a post.
Are there situations when it's OK to break a promise?
Please share your answers in the comments section and reply to other BNC members here.
Remember to support your opinions with reasons, and be open-minded to viewpoints other than your own. Bring in the knowledge you've learnt from your Burnet News Club too!
Comments (72)
10 Sep 2019
A promise is either a written or vocal pact that you make to either do or not do something. Therefore, the person that you promise trusts you and puts faith in you to uphold your half of the deal so ,if you break it, you are abusing their trust. Also, the deal that you make can benefit other people. For example, the magna carta was signed ,in England, to say that everyone was subjected to the law ( including the king and his sheriffs) and put a limit on the king's power. It also gave rights to the citizens of the country. However, when King Charles i began his reign, he abused the power and did not adhere to the rules of the Great Charter. The result of this was the English Civil War. Therefore, you should try not to break a promise as it can lead to terrible consequences.
However, there can be situations when you have to break a promise. As, if the other party that you made the promise with have failed to uphold the conditions of the deal, then there are certain times when it may be necessary to break the terms. For example, looking back to the Magna Carta, the round heads (the people opposing Charles i) had to break the deal that they would not up rise against the cavaliers as the King had created an army to fight them.
In conclusion, I believe that most of the time you should always try to keep your promises. However, there are specific moments when you have to break conditions of pacts or deals.
https://www.bl.uk/magna-carta/videos/what-is-magna-carta
11 Sep 2019
Realy, there is no right reason to break a promise, escpecilly if its between countries. But in school, it still wont turn out well either, they might fall out or call each other names, it wont end in a good way. The only good reason i can think of to break a promise is if its a birthday. If someone says, are you going to get me a present, what is it? Most of the time you say, nothing or, youll see. But those are tiny lies to keep a secret.
Now that has made me think, is it good to lie to people just to keep a secret?
13 Sep 2019
No because if you promise something you shouldn’t break a promise because It is wrong and if you break it there is no point of keeping it.
Yes! promises should be kepte
what do you mean gregorgious moon why should it. advice: please back it up
13 Sep 2019
I think that there is sometimes you should break a promise because you might say that you will not get involved with anything that it has nothing to do with you and it starts become something else you will get involved. Or if you say that you will play with someone at dinner and you promise and you might forget and play with someone else and then it will become and argument between you and who you promised to play with then who you where playing with will be alone if you play with them and just leave them. But then there should be no reason for people to break a promise.
Thank you for this. I'm interested to know what kind of situation could 'become something else' and mean it's acceptable for you to break an earlier promise. Can you think of an example situation?
16 Sep 2019
I think that in some situations its okay to break a promise because it could escalate into a bigger and more dangerous situation which could cause someone being harmed because they didn't know it was going to happen to them and got caught by surprise for example: One of your mates tells you that they are going to do something bad to one of your other mates because they had fallen out and tells you to keep it to yourself and not tell anyone but this could harm your mate so in this situation it would be okay to break a promise.So in conclusion there are situations where it is okay to break a promise.
16 Sep 2019
A promise is a mutual agreement between to or more people. However if one person is acting unfair or against the promise I think it is then ok for the other person to break the promise as well. Both people need to work together. But when you make a promise you should always try to keep it because that is your morals and values. Sometimes it is hard to keep it when lots of people are involved, but you should use integrity to make the right choices. If people break it first there should be a consequence for breaking it, depending on how bad it is.
Thanks, vibrant_tiger. Are there any situations where one person is acting unfair or against the promise but the other person should still keep their side?
16 Sep 2019
Sometimes it depends on what you are promising. But something as big as this you should not break the promise,I think this is wrong that China are saying that they will give people freedom but from the looks of it Hong Kong looks like the victim. We did used to rule Hong Kong so maybe we should help them out in this. But that could result in war or China not sending us the thing they have made so this is a bit of a dilemma.
Thanks steady_fish. You say Hong Kong looks like the victim and we maybe the UK should help them out. What do you think the UK could do?
18 Sep 2019
absolutely
18 Sep 2019
Yes i think sometimes its OK to break promises because maybe you are being bullied and the bully tells you not to tell anybody but you have to do it to resolve the problem so it is OK to break promises sometimes even though that isnt really relevant!
18 Sep 2019
I think we should never break a promise against countries because it might end up in a argument or an attack
18 Sep 2019
no i hate when pipple do lat
True (you apparently spelt some words wrong).
18 Sep 2019
I think that you can break a promise if you mum says you can have something and you are not good and you said you broke a promise.
19 Sep 2019
I don't think it's ok to break a promise at all. When you are about to break a promise, you should think about the person that you made the promise with. Think about how they would feel. If they were your friend they might even stop being friends with you!
19 Sep 2019
I think sometimes because if someone has done something very bad then you make a promise you will not tell it’s fine too inform a adult in case they do something worse in the future.👋🏻
20 Sep 2019
It think it’s never ok to break a promise unless u really really have to. Like if ur life depends on it or if someone else asked u to promise the opposite. They are the only situations when it is ok
20 Sep 2019
Probably because when you make a promise to a best friend i feel you keep that promise because i may hurt someone.
20 Sep 2019
Sometimes you might need to break a promise to keep everybody safe
20 Sep 2019
I think maybe it might be ok
to break a promise depends if it's bad or even terrible
20 Sep 2019
It is not nice to break a promise as somebody has trusted you and believed you. However,there are some terms and conditions for instance if somebody says " _____ I am getting bullied and they threatened me." This could be a serious matter and somebody could be in danger, so I think the person should break the promise because he could somebody's life.
What promise would you be breaking by saying that?
21 Sep 2019
I think maybe it might be ok
to break a promise depends if it's bad or even terrible
21 Sep 2019
If you make a promise you should keep it, if you can't keep it don't make it.
Can you explain why you say this, passionate_lime?
21 Sep 2019
Yes, but only when the another country has broken their promise to you as well because if they can't keep their promise, then why should you?
Good question - why should you? Can anyone think of an answer to this?
21 Sep 2019
you should keep a promise but if that other country or person{ETC} cant keep a promise then you should have the right to break that promise and if that person or country comes over to you and says why did you not keep your promise you should say i did not keep my promise because you did not keep yours.That is just being hypocritical
23 Sep 2019
I agree you should keep a promise, but there might be some situation where you need to
break a promise.
23 Sep 2019
Usually we have to keep promises,but sometimes have to break promises or it will lead to even bigger things than your broken promise.But sometimes they don't and it gets them or you into trouble and also, they may reveal it unnecessarily.
honestly your answer was really good but I do not agree with you because it is never ok to break a promise because you should think before you talk don't make promises before you keep them
In situations were it is for the safety of the person would you still say it’s not ok to break a promise?
yes because if its to keep someone safe we have to think about that first rule1 for me think before you talk because the most pewful thing in your body is your mouth i should know because i have been in a situation were tis has happened and i learnt from that day after day
23 Sep 2019
To answer this question there is many types of promises that you can break and make! For example someone asked you to keep a secret that they were doing something terrible would you break thier promise or keep it for the promise they asked you to keep?
24 Sep 2019
Well at first I thought of course not . But then after thinking about it I have mixed feelings. NO you should never break a promise . When you make a promise you should stick and keep I it no matter what . However , then I realized that actually if somebody is putting themselves in danger and you promised not to tell anyone than you need to tell an adult about it.
This is an interesting comment. Are you able to give an example to support your point of view?
Well once I was watching a movie about danceing and this girl injured her leg and she pretend that nothing was wrong but she actually injured it very badly . She told her friend and then her friend did the right thing and told an adult . Sometimes are friends can be in danger so as their friend the right thing to do is tell an adult for their safety.
A very good piece of evidence to support your point, lovely_hippopotamus!
Thank you, I really appreciate it .
Because what if someone say's that you're going to be fine when your not but you don't want to make them sad in the process
I've watched that. That's the right thing to not a bad thing you put someone before yourself even though they wont be your friend sometimes you just have to sacrifice
24 Sep 2019
I personally would say that most promises shouldn't be broken but on the other hand some promises can be broken for the persons own good if the promise is that serious.
I agree
24 Sep 2019
I think it depends on what kind of promise you break. If your best friend told you that they have a crush and they don't want you to tell anyone then you promise them, you can't.If your friend broke school things and you promise you won't tell , it'll be better if you tell an adult instead or you might get in trouble also for knowing.
A very open-minded approach, eager_tiger, well done!
I agree if my friend told me that he's moving and doesn't want me to tell enyone because they'll be sad and I told everyone my friend will be mad and might not be my friend
By the way well done for the star!
Thanks
25 Sep 2019
sometimes you can=
China broke their promise so why can't Hong Kong break their promise to?
It's unfair for Hong Kong
well said passionate_lime you took the words right out of my mouth
your welcome
26 Sep 2019
It is ok to break a promise as long as what the results of breaking the promise leads to nothing that will have a bad impacts or bad results of the promise
26 Sep 2019
It depends on the situation.
28 Sep 2019
It is not ok to break a promise. A promise is like a vow, you have told them that you will always keep that a secret, or you will never do a certain thing, etc. They have then put their trust into you. If you break that promise, it could create various consequences. (Honourable conclusion has the example I would use)
Well done for linking your point to someone else's, happy_politics. You also show good reasoning by defining what a promise is to help you explain why it should not be broken.
30 Sep 2019
No because if you weren't sure you could keep the promise then you shouldn't have done it. You now have a deal with that country/person so if you break it, it won't be fair for the other person or country.
01 Oct 2019
I think its not okay to break a promise because if I went up to one of my friends and told them who I had a crush on and they went and told that person a that I had a crush o them it could lead to tears.
My opinion is that you should never brake a promise,for example the Hong Kong crisis China keep on braking there promise to make Hong Kong a better place
02 Oct 2019
Well, technically, never. There is only 1 situation when it is OK, and that is when the person who has made you make the promise says it is definitely OK
02 Oct 2019
I think it is not OK. Only if something gets really serious. Like what currently is happening in Hong Kong. Or if the person says it's alright because they need you to do it.But in any other situations you can't break them unless these to examples are done.
04 Oct 2019
if you want to break a promise you have the excuse to keep people safe but if you want to break a promise because you've change your decision you can never do that think about the other people first because you do not know what to expect because lets just say you are keeping a promise to your friend that you are never going to tell them off but then you think back yourself that's not right they need to learn from their mistake just like everyone else you tell off that's the right thing to do :)
but if you made a promise that you are going to give someone an iPhone 11 because their your friend and then suddenly you have fallen out and you are not going to give it to them again that is just silly :(
04 Oct 2019
Well, it depends for example if you say your going out but it rains you need to go inside because at that time you can keep people safe from hurting themselves even more if it's rain.
So sometimes you have to break your promise
06 Oct 2019
It depends how or what it affects, for example, (this didn't actually happen) but what if England made a promise with the US that they would make both army's become one giant one, that would be good because they would be able to help each other with their differences. But, if Brazil promised that they would start war with Britain, that is a threat instead and would affect the physical and man-made geography and hurt both citizens.
So promises are a powerful tool. The definition of a promise is a declaration or assurance that one will do something or that a particular thing will happen or assure someone that one will definitely do something or that something will happen. And as lots of people say, a promise can never be broken. If you break a promise for a GOOD reason that is always sensible, but in this case, China has deliberately chosen to ignore the 'one country, two systems' joint declaration from both the Sino (Chinese) and the British.
Thank you for reading.
Good use of examples to back up your opinion!
08 Oct 2019
It depends on weather it's a good promise that you agree with if it's not a good promise then it's your decision if you want to break it or not !
08 Oct 2019
I believe personally there could be a time you could break a promise or there is a time there is no necessary point to break a promise Unless there is an emergency which is more important than your promise whereas a promise could mean alot to someone like during a Wedding You make pledges and promise to cherish those pledges and not to break them this could be an example of a Promise At a wedding Its an important part of someones life and breaking that promise it could lead to concomitant and their trust in you could break.If Britain made a promise to Hong Kong to help them Britain could also need to solve their own problems like brexit then meaning that they have the option to themself to break the promise or fulfill the promise,Breaking the promise could lead to war with Hong kong which is what people think could be World war 3,Therefore Only break a promise if necessary.
08 Oct 2019
I think it depends on the situation. If someone promised you that they would keep a secret surprise for somebody else, then it isn't okay for you to break that that promise because that means youwill be annoyed and maybe angry with the person who broke the promise because it ruined the surprise for someone else and the person whose surprise it was will have the same emotions for them because they didn't get their surprise. If it's anything like that then it isn't okay to break a promise.
If you promised someone that you wouldn't tell a teacher, like in lovely_hippopotamus' example, if someone was hurt then it is okay to break a promise as it could get worse. Also, if you promised someone that was asking you to do something that could get you into trouble or get you hurt then it is okay to break it because that is unkind since they are setting you up to be hurt.
21 Nov 2019
Otis not ok to break a promise. A promice is like a vow , you have told theme hat you will always keep that secret ,or that you will never do a certain thing ,etc . They have then put their trust in you. If you break that promise, it could create a verity of consequences . (Honourable_conclusion has the same example I would use.)
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