The Merriam-Webster Learners Dictionary defines integrity as “1. The quality of being honest and fair, 2. The state of being complete or whole.” It is often said, “Integrity is a virtue.” What is virtue? “Virtue is a moral habit which generally results in the gaining or maintaining of your
values.” With that, “Integrity is the
virtue of practicing what one preaches. Or more importantly, practicing what one believes is right. A 'man of principle' is not a man who understands a principle, but a man who understands, accepts, and lives by a principle.”
I define integrity as how honest, realistic and justified someone or something is. The first time I ever heard the word integrity was when I was in 8th grade and my English teacher was questioning my classmates ‘integrity.’ She was positive that a classmate of mine cheated on his English assignment, and it was then that I first heard the phrase ‘integrity is a virtue,’ spoken. It is amazing that I remember that particular instance in my childhood. It really struck me as something so grown up. When my teacher said the word ‘Integrity’ it sounded so mature. I immediately looked it up in the dictionary and I remember going over to my classmate and telling him that the teacher just called him a liar! For me, telling someone they are ‘liar’ is just as bad as telling someone to ‘shut-up’. Growing up, my dad made it very clear that my sister and I would never use the word ‘shut-up.’ My dad said that when you tell someone to shut up, you are telling him or her, “you are stupid, no good, not worth listening to, I hate you and go away.” My dad was very adamant that we never use that word, and to this day, I think I have uttered that word maybe a handful of times, moreover, I have never, ever heard my dad utter the words ‘shut up’ to me, my mom or sister, never! I never want to be told to shut up, or be called a liar, or to have my integrity questioned.
When you question someone’s integrity, it is far worse than just calling him or her a liar. You are questioning their character, their values and how they conduct their life. Integrity is like a cake, it is an ‘end’ product. There are certain recipes for integrity, one bad egg and the recipe is spoiled. When integrity is spoiled, it is not easily recovered because; there are so many aspects of a person’s personality and character that go into defining that person’s integrity. It goes above and beyond just telling the truth. A great way to understand integrity, is to simply look at the other words people use in place of it:
character,
decency,
goodness,
honesty,
morality,
probity,
rectitude,
righteousness,
rightness,
uprightness,
virtue,
virtuousness. These are all loaded words with numerous connotations. Integrity, as mentioned above, is how we practice what we preach. It is not only how we conduct our lives, but also how others see our lives being conducted. Practice what you preach!
I spent a lot of time studying Latin. I know, it is an ancient and dead language, but it gave us the foundation for communication. It gave us words like integrity. The root word of integrity is ‘integer,” meaning whole or complete. Thus, when someone’s integrity remains intact they themselves are whole or complete. Working in the historical field, often time we would look at the historic integrity of something, whether it be a structure, or a translated passage. Was the structure upheld or restored to its historic integrity? Was that passage translated with integrity, in other words, were there any liberties taken in the process? When a building has lost its historic integrity or liberties have been taken in translating a passage, they have lost their completeness, and are no longer seen as honest renderings.
When someone lacks integrity, they lack honesty, not in just what they say but how they conduct their life. I had a friend and neighbor once that turned out to be someone who lacked integrity. She lied to me, she made excuses for inexcusable behavior, and she lacked the courage to confront those who once cared for her and come clean with them. I not only lost all respect for her, I furthermore questioned her motivations and integrity. I could not trust her words, her reasoning or her commitment. It comes as a loss when you can no longer trust someone, when their integrity has been spoiled, because in most instances, you have invested a certain amount of yourself in that person. Nevertheless, when I chose to walk away from that friendship, I reconfirmed my commitment to upholding integrity as one of my core personal values.
I have friend who was a law enforcement ranger that exemplifies what it means to have integrity. He not only practices what he preaches, he conducts his life in a way that all things, character, personality, personal and professional habits, measure up to. This last summer he was placed in a very compromising situation. He had to make a decision to confront several of his co-workers, neighbors and friends, and issue them violations for breaking park regulations. I know this does not sound that bad, but when you consider that these people were his friends, his neighbors and his co-workers, he had a lot to lose in doing what was right. Nevertheless, knowing that it was his job to uphold the integrity of the laws he was charged to uphold, he did his job and carried it out with dignity and fortitude.
Those are the types of qualities you have to have and hope that your partner has when it comes to law enforcement. Someone who is going to walk the walk, talk the talk and in compromising situations, know the right thing to do and do it. Integrity in that regard is the most important core professional value in the law enforcement field. It incorporates all other values and is a physical and mental embodiment of knowing and doing what is right at all times. It is leading by example both professionally and personally.
Last week I wrote about commitment. This week I want to reconfirm my commitment to the virtue of integrity. I want to reconfirm my commitment to this academy and state again my personal and professional commitment to myself: I have a commitment to serve the public in a way that reflects positively on my agency. I have a commitment to represent my family with upmost integrity. Above all, I have a commitment to myself that I will live my life in a way that, with each decision I make, every idea and value I promote, and how I conduct my affairs, will reaffirm the integrity of my character. I am committed to do all of these to the best of my ability, with respect, dignity, and grace.
