Integrity Matters — May 24, 2009

by J.S. Buford

As you grow older you learn some things; learn being the key, operative word. You learn the tooth fairy, Santa Klaus (or is it Claus), the boogey man, unicorns, and mythical goblins don’t exist. You learn being an adult is about more than simply doing what you want to do.

Hopefully, over the course of time you begin to explore the contours of your own person — mind, body, and soul — and that of the world around you. And if you are a go getta, you begin to decipher the difference between work and effort. Soon, you start the process of figuring out what kind of person you want to be and the company you want to keep.

And in the midst of this journey we call life, flanked by all these various lessons and decisions, many of us eventually draw a line in the sand.

We begin to reflect upon matters of pride, dignity, morality, values, doing the right thing, the type of lives we want to live; even what we want people to say about us once we’ve departed. Eventually these ruminations imprint themselves upon us, metathesize, and inextricably imprint upon our daily movements. We become the manifestation of our higher selves, our noblest thoughts, and hopefully are pragmatic enough (I’ll come back to this) to realize the fruit of our labors.

Then there are those who are willing to equivocate, cheat, abandon all ethics, and steal in order to meet their objectives. For them the end always justifies the means. They are usually motivated by a sense of entitlement: selfish bottomless pits, often stoked by resentment, desperation, frustration, greed, and contempt. Many are accomplished, decorated, even celebrated.

And their presence is often indelible.

Detroit. The Democratic Republic of the Congo. The United States of America. Yes, the United States of America. There are millions of disenfranchised and homeless souls wandering our streets, without relief while so many profess, and loudly exclaim the prodigal descent of a Christian nation. What would Christ do? Indeed. And let us never forget the extent to which the Cheney administration was willing to eviscerate this nation’s constitution, and if unabated (possibly) irreparably steward this country into the abyss of despotism.

This nation’s economic death drop occurred because of the abandonment of principle. Profit rather than financial viability ruled the day. The business owner, committed to providing services and products, committed to the solvency of employees, families, and communities was marginalized. People became subordinate to the mercurial movements of the market. And the end result will be (in spite of the oncoming economic recovery) too many families subsisting on spam and sardines, unable to afford to send their sons and daughters to college, and live lives of dignity.

There is not time enough to elaborate upon the hell the unscrupulous can wreak upon you personally should you be unfortunate enough to allow them space in your life. It can be an especially pernicious experience if there are children involved.

Still, no one born of this world is perfect. We all have faults, deficits, and vices, even secrets.

Nevertheless, Martin nor Malcolm, Mandela nor Lumumba, Washington nor Du Bois, Douglass nor Walker, Gandi nor Moses, Jordan nor Armstrong, Tubman nor Wells-Barnett, Washington, Franklin, nor Lincoln, L ‘Ouverture, not even Jesus…none of these men and women were perfect. But they all understood that it is the pursuit of excellence, the pursuit of principles, something bigger than themselves — integrity, honesty, honor, ethics, justice — that ultimately separates us from the Madoffs, McGuires, Ramirezs, Cheneys, Detroit’s domestic abusers, the scoundrels, etc., etc., of the world.

It is at the heart of why some would scrub toilets for a living, rather than steal from another individual; meet the needs of their clients first, before their own financial appetites; sit in a jail cell or be consumed by bullets, rather than fail their people; perform life saving operations in the most impoverished of ghettoes, rather than show those in need the door; sacrifice for the love of their children, rather than tuck tale and run.

It is the splendid, the hard, the strong, those who hold tight to their convictions who actually make a difference in this world for the better. Therein lies the difference between a leader and an opportunist; a poet and an applause whore; a professional and a hustler. Leaders who stand the test of time do not pursue leadership for the perks — money, fame, attention, and status — alone. Most simply strive to excel — in practice and temperament — and by doing so empower others to do the same, and often enjoy the hard won benefits along the way.

Trust, honor, excellence, and honesty…the extent to which we tirelessly pursue such principles ultimately determines the measure of a man or woman. Indeed, the pursuit of principles cannot always be readily quantified in dollars and cents, but they do register qualitatively, coloring the lives we live.

They matter. Integrity matters.

Unfortunately, it makes people uncomfortable to be around individuals whom espouse such sentiments, and have nerve enough to commit to them. Courage scares people. Very few of the aforementioned historical figures (and their ilk) were loved and truly appreciated until they were dead.

All that being said, let’s not be naïve. There are those who will retort, that accomplishment is all that matters regardless of the means. There are those who are more than willing, able, and ready to lie directly to your face, slander, and pursue their own selfish appetites regardless of the collateral damage. It is the way of the world. And in an effort to achieve what may be noble objectives, sometimes you have negotiate relationships involving those who simply have no moral reservations whatsoever.

It is perhaps one of the most difficult lessons to learn as we strive to be a credit to our families, communities, and those who’ve offered kind words or a helping hand in support of us. Still, integrity matters. It is the difference between one hit wonders and success that lasts. While talent and determination will take you to the mountaintops, the descent is much more treacherous than the climb. Integrity inspires. People will give their all, break their bodies, and sacrifice their lives to achieve something greater. It not only edifies, but also reifies everything it touches.

True progress does not occur without it. The desire to lift as we climb is reduced to empty rhetoric. Martin’s Dream becomes nothing more than a punch line; desecrated as a means to commoditize. Without it our lives become reduced to a rat race, predicated upon winners and losers, without thought to mutual progress. And while there are few absolutes in life, some things matter. Some things have to matter.

Integrity matters.

Originally published at https://www.catchjsbuford.com.