Paying for the Sins of Another

My director has a sign on the window to his office that says "A.P.I. - Don't your co-workers deserve it?"  The basic premise is that A.P.I. stands for Assume Positive Intent.  Too many times people assume the worst.  What we typically find, if we take the time to look in to it, is that more often than not, the intent of the person you're questioning is positve.  However, more often than not, we assume that their intent was negative.  So, if we know that the intent is usually positive, why do we usually assume the intent was negative until proven otherwise? 
Probably because we tend to remember the negative much more easily than we do the positive.  The negative tends to have a much deeper impact on us than the positive.  Basically, we're paying for the sins of others.  When other people did "A" it was because their intent was "B".  So when we do "A" then the assumption is that our intent is "B"...when in reality the intent of most people is really "C". 
We've become very cynical, and while it bothers me to be the "victim" of the cynicism, I've also found myself being cynical of things I'm told by others.  Assuming the intent to be something other than what it probably is.  In the end, I'll do my best to take people at their word, put it in God's hands, and hope that it doesn't end up burning me in the end.