Fine print

It wouldn’t be an understatment to say that few people read the fine print of most contracts they encounter. In fact, I would venture to argue that most people don’t read most of any contractual documents they sign throughout their life. Whether buying a house, taking out a loan or renting a car, chances are you’ll miss something or consciously choose to ignore it.
Consider the case of software agreements, those on-screen contracts that you’re supposed to read each time you install a new program on your computer. I admit that I don’t think I’ve ever read one in its entirety. And if I have, I certainly don’t remember doing so. While I have a general idea of what I’m getting into when I sign such agreements, I may be approving something I’d really rather not have to respect. Imagine if you had to give away your personal information to install Microsoft Word, as well as the right to distribute it to advertisers.
We can go through life ignoring the fine print, for the most part, because most contracts are standard forms. Software-use agreements don’t change. Corporations don’t try to trick their customers because they realize the public outcry that would result from taking advantage of only a few individuals.
The law recognizes this and will declare as unconscionable any contract which deviates in such a manner that “normal,” rational individuals wouldn’t agree to the terms. In short, even if people fail to read the fine print, yet agree, they can still get out of a contract which wasn’t really what they had expected.
This is, perhaps, legal paternalism. And it begs the questions as to why society and the legal system demand such little responsability on the part of consumer clients. The simple fact is that you shouldn’t sign something you haven’t read. If you volunteer to ignore the text of a contract, yet sign it anyway, you should still be responsibile for respecting the terms of that agreement.
When you don’t read the fine print, you are simply expressing a desire to get a thing sooner, rather than more responsibly. We often do the same thing when we fail to read things in their entirety, scanning for key terms or outlandish points, without appreciating such statements in context.
Just be sure you read the fine print, whether it be the terms of a contract or the placement of a disclaimer. We don’t often get second chances and reacting emotionally to circumstances that aren’t really what they seem, especially when that illusion is of our own creation, can be a very bad decision. Responsibility and prudence are, ultimately, the order of the day.