Who can say that they are person of integrity?
It turns out that not everyone has the same idea of what integrity is, so I would like to share my views of this, if I may...
in·teg·ri·ty
[in-teg-ri-tee]
noun
1. adherence to moral and ethical principles; soundness of moral character; honesty.
2. the state of being whole, entire, or undiminished: to preserve the integrity of the empire.
3. a sound, unimpaired, or perfect condition: the integrity of a ship's hull.
Integrity simply means that you hold yourself to a moral standard. ADHERENCE to it. Lets check to see what that means, shall we?
ad·her·ence
[ad-heer-uh
ns, -her-]
ns, -her-] noun
1. the quality of adhering; steady devotion, support, allegiance, or attachment: adherence to a party; rigid adherence to rules.
If you're devoted to something, that means that no one is forcing you to do it. Devotion is an act of selflessness, you can be devoted to your husband or wife, your kids, your job, your God, your boyfriend or girlfriend. You could be devoted to your love of cooking! All this means is that if you are devoted to something, you would put that thing first. In this case, if adhering to something is a matter or devotion or selfless giving, and integrity is an adherence to a moral code and honesty, that means that if you were to be a person of integrity, that you would willingly devote yourself to a moral code and stick with it (that's why it's called ADHE-sive - it sticks ;) (OH how I love languages....sometimes).
Integrity, it seems, is then an act of self. Integrity is keeping yourself in check. Integrity is knowing the wrong thing, and not doing it - or even REALIZING that you're doing the wrong thing, and ending your actions of it. Integrity is - lets say - not underage drinking because you know it's wrong. It doesn't matter if you get caught or not - because Integrity is KNOWING the wrong thing - and not doing it, regardless of if you are going to be rewarded or not.
I'm not saying that I am a virtuous, pious, or perfect human being that is worth of worship and praise. I am, however, saying that I try as often as I can, to have Integrity, ESPECIALLY where it counts. If it is LITERALLY against the law, do not expect to find me doing it. If it means that someone is going to get hurt, emotionally or physically, because of actions that I do or don't take, I will try my damnedest to keep someone from suffering. I've come to a better realization of what this means since I've joined the Air Force, and the longer I stay at DLI, the more I come to appreciate what Integrity is, and how I now portray that image. I don't drink and drive, I don't do drugs, I don't buy for people underage, because doing one, or all, of those things will end up hurting someone, if not me, then my family, or my friends.
That's what Integrity means to me. I hold MYSELF to a standard. My Integrity is not dependent on others, what others do or how much better I am than them. There have been times in my life when I have been without Integrity, and I'm sure in the future there will be times when it slips. But in the end....
It takes 20 years to build a reputation, and 5 minutes to tear it to pieces.
