Summary:
In today's society, however, we are losing one of the most fundamental "human" characteristics - integrity. If a person, any person fails to act on their core commitments, through self-deception, weakness of will, cowardice, or even ignorance, then they lack integrity.
Prior to the 1600's, it was believed that piles of straw could spontaneously become mice. Obviously, this is not the case. Later, scientists universally agreed on the 6 characteristics that make an organism "alive." These are that, firstly, living things must be composed of cells, second, they must obtain and use energy, third, they must grow and develop, fourth, they must reproduce, fifth, they must respond to stimuli, and lastly, they must adapt to the environment. Through careful study, scientists have discovered that humans are living! But then, so are billions of other things. How, then, are we different from the beasts that crawl, or the birds that fly? Of course, the answer is simple; human beings have personality and intelligence.
In today's society, however, we are losing one of the most fundamental "human" characteristics - integrity. Webster's defines integrity as "a steadfast adherence to a set of morals." Defining those individual morals would take a lifetime. So, simply put, integrity is the golden rule, "do unto others as you would have them do to you." Yet are we doing so? Are we doing what is "right" when no one is looking?
Consider the case of the September 11th attack, and the war on terror that followed. Notice that it was only when our own national security and welfare was threatened, did we act. Only when America was directly affected, did we retaliate. And yet no one remembers these ugly truths. How even dating back to the Second World War. America only fought with our allies when we were attacked. In fact, with the military power of the Untied States, we could have saved millions of lives by vastly shortening the war, and stopping Germany early on.
But it is not only the fault of America. If we examined these cases from a different perspective, then we would find that were the 9/11 terrorists people of integrity, the tragedy would not have happened. Were the Nazis people of integrity, World War II would not have occurred. But the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy object to this consequence. They say that If the genocidal Nazi is a possible object of ascriptions of moral integrity, then we can properly ascribe integrity to people whose moral viewpoint is bizarrely remote from any we find intelligible or defensible. Basically, if we all thought like the Nazis, their actions would be acceptable.
But we do not.
If a person, any person fails to act on their core commitments, through self-deception, weakness of will, cowardice, or even ignorance, then they lack integrity.
Consider the case of Andrea Yeats, the mother who drowned her five children. Her case is classic of self-deception and weakness of will. Allegedly, she was insane when she drowned her children. But I believe that the love of a mother for her children can overcome any mental illness. And it is only because of her self-deception, that she committed this outlandish crime. Without a shadow of a doubt, she lacks integrity.
But it goes back much further. Consider the oppression of African Americans. It went on for centuries before someone, by the way, this someone was not a slave himself, finally realized that it was wrong. But what were the African Americans slaves at the time doing? Why did they not rise up against their oppressors? True, there were some revolts, but not enough, never enough. Because so many slaves simply accepted their way of life. Accepted that they were the lesser of society. Accepted that they deserved such treatment. Is this not an example of ignorance? Is this not an example of lack of integrity? Even during the civil rights movement. If Dr. Martin Luther King were not there to lead the headless activists, I will not believe they would have succeeded.
Too often in society, are we accepting what is now. We are not striving for WHAT OUGHT TO BE. How dare we. How dare we accept the horrid society of now? Too many of us have become complacent in our lives. We are not striving for success; we are not striving for progress.
How are we, then, different from beasts of burden, who only do what they are told and show no initiative when left alone. Are we losing our humanity"
Consider the book 1984, by George Orwell. In the totalitarian government of George Orwell, everything is censored. The protagonist in the story is tired of his oppressive life and wants to join the "Brotherhood," a secret faction of anti-government guerillas. However, they remained just that, a small faction. In the end, the protagonist wastes away on an island, drinking gin. Compare the fictitious world of Orwell, to that of communist Russia during the mid-1900's, even under such a society, the peasantry simply had not the initiative to rise up against the oppressors. In fact, they conformed to the will of the government. So outlandish was the propaganda during that time, that furniture shops made beds for 3 people. One for the wife, one for the husband, and one for Vladimir Lenin, who was always with the people of Russia. This was the same man who set examples of government for Joseph Stalin and Adolph Hitler. The Russian people, had they had integrity, had they had initiative, would never have accepted such despotism.
But the lack of integrity in society is not confined to the volumes of history. It occurs every second. When children lie about doing their homework. When employees spend working time chatting with colleagues. When unsupervised people commit acts of extremity. When human beings refuse to act upon the vigilance of instinct, but instead, turn to appease the demons that reside within us. We exhibit the lack of integrity we are all prone to.
But it does not have to be so! For we, as human beings, as the dominators of the world, were, according to Charles Darwin, were put upon this earth to rise above nature. We may succumb to our animal instinct, yes. But civilization, as well as intellect, can combat this invisible threat. For the lack of integrity cannot be compared to the common ails of humankind. It is a disease from within. Only by individual awareness and understanding can we neutralize this terror.
And therefore, I strongly urge each and every one of you. Whenever you are tempted to do something you know to be against your morals. When you commit an act you know to be inhumane. Think twice. Think of the consequences, unforeseen, that may result from your actions. Whenever you are temped to cross the invisible line from human to animal. Think of the golden rule.
So then, let us come together, not as Americans, not as Russians, not as English or French. Nor as white or black. Nor as rich or poor. Not even as democrats and republicans. But as human beings. Who were put upon this good earth to overcome the demons of nature. As George W. Bush said, "God does miracles in people's lives, and you never think it could be you." Today the choice lies in you.
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