Integrity

Integrity

What is integrity?

The dictionary says it is : firm adherence to a code of especially moral or artistic values : incorruptibility : an unimpaired condition : soundness: the quality or state of being complete or undivided : completeness www.merriam-webster.com...

In a social setting such as we have in this world today (billions and billions of people), integrity, some may say, is lost. If this is the case, such a loss needs to be reclaimed.

Honesty is hard to come by these days. Is this a fair statement? Do people care if their word means anything? Are people accountable for their actions and or lies? Do they care?



Each person must discover his own philosophy of life, and it is not fair to impose our ideals upon others. It's our responsibility, however, to share one with another such experiences as to find common value and or ground. We desire, therefore, not to convert or convince, but to invite such a sharing with the sincere hope that some mutual good will be accomplished. This is what I am doing.... sharing with ATS my views regarding integrity as a whole.

I believe people are essentially good. Maybe its naive, however it is how I view my fellow humans.

Materialism and consumerism has allowed our species a choice and a tempting one at that. Could it be this is the problem to our integrity issues? The research below believes so.

From the "AOISHIMA RESEARCH INSTITUTE" in 2004
"PRESERVING CULTURAL INTEGRITY IN THE AGE OF GLOBALIZATION: An Educational Response"
Authors: Martha R. Bireda, Ph.D., J.F. Cummings, Zita D. Pangelinan
www.aoishima-research.com...

"The materialistic/consumeristic culture is a memetic viral culture, and like a cancerous growth, overwhelms, dominates, and ultimately destroys the integrity of the world's cultures if unstopped."

From the paper... The crisis is as follows:

"With the introduction of the memetic viral culture, the targeted society moves farther and farther away from what makes it civilized. What the group members traditionally considered to be important for the welfare of the group are replaced by a set of values that foster selfishness and greed. Desires come to be experienced as urgent needs and material possessions are believed to be the only way to happiness."

The research indicates society has become affected by a virus~ like ideology of self and greed and its sweeping the globe.

Selfishness and greed have overcome the morals and values of yesterday.

Also from the research they conclude that our society shared...

Collectivism ~ a concern for the welfare of fellow humans.
Harmony~ with nature and man
Cooperation~ interdependence
Connectedness~ to a higher power and or all people

We now have a society who look for personal fulfillment beyond measures.
A concern for:
~ The self only
~ Domination
~ Competition,
~ Separation with a superiority complex.
~ Oriented by wealth, possessions, fear, and the status quo.

Some may read this and think, "So what"?
Think about it though... there is a fall out that occurs with this sort of long term behavior. Integrity is possibly needed in more ways than one.

People allow them self to obtain a false sense of hope that,

"things" can bring them a sense of well-being, happiness, and esteem. The stress, strain, and anxiety associated with "empty" striving starts to take a toll and psychological health starts to suffer. As the media continuously promotes the emotional benefits of consumption, members of the targeted society begin to experience a "consumption addiction". Caught up in a destructive cycle, the more the group members experience the emptiness associated with the pursuit of money and things, the more they strive to get more, bigger, and better things to relieve the discomfort and feel better."

The Psyche begins to deteriorate with this long term behavior.

"Individuals whose lives were once motivated by a sense of purpose, fulfillment, and intrinsic rewards now experience emptiness, alienation, and misdirected lives. Finally, the feelings of insecurity, frustration, and unhappiness associated with "not having things" lead to unhealthy and destructive behaviors such as alcohol and drug abuse.

Of course today's society is addicted to pain pills. It was once not as bad as it is today. Dr.'s do help... don't get me wrong, however they are the biggest drug pushers! Oh, you are depressed? Here is a pill! Oh, you have a pain in your arm? Here is a pill. You don't feel good? Here is a pill!! Good GAWD! Stop already ya pill pushin' blankity blank! People lose their integrity little by little. Morals and values change.

" An overwhelming shift from concern with others to selfishness and greed will occur. In a culture in which the sacredness of humanity was honored, and the welfare of all members of the society was a highly held value, group members will start to be seen as objects only to be used for the benefit of others to have more. Once the memetic viral culture has infested the targeted society to this degree, crime and violence will become the norm."

Without Integrity,

"Everything that was known, that brought stability and a sense of security will have been erased. The once harmonious, contented, populace will have been replaced by a society of insecure, anxiety, dissatisfied individuals who are estranged from their own culture and unable to find the happiness they sought in the baubles of the memetic viral culture."

Someone who lived his life with integrity in my opinion is Dr. Martin Luther King. His enduring strength and integrity changed the world.

"Upholding our integrity to the small daily tests is what the integrious do. This leads to a higher level of awareness, confidence in our ability to respond, and a strength that we can stand up to more difficult opposition because we have successfully stood up to the smaller ones." www.integriousproject.com...

So, what do you think in regards to our society and integrity? Is it lost?

Also, who can you think of that displays or displayed integrity?

Thanks for reading! xoxox

Jenn

reply to post by MamaJ


I tend to associate consistency with integrity. That is, maybe, a supplement to the definition of integrity; also, I tend to think of integrity in terms of an abstraction that is neutral. What I mean is I wouldn't necessarily describe continual evils visited upon some person by another person as a lack of integrity. It's possible that the person doing the evil may just be living up to the standards of some code. At any rate, I don't mean to distort the spirit of your OP. It's rather nice--I like it.

Who do I think displays a good deal of integrity? I've never met the man, but Butler Shaffer is one person that comes to mind.

Take it easy.

reply to post by Kovenov


You didn't distort the spirit, thank you for your feedback.

Who do I think displays a good deal of integrity? I've never met the man, but Butler Shaffer is one person that comes to mind.

Who is Butler Shaffer?

I love a good speaker/philosopher and I consider Manly Hall one. He speaks at length about integrity and the" passing of the lamp".

reply to post by MamaJ


Integrity is never lost. It is only misplaced. You may misplace integrity when you break a code, but it's never too late to do what's right. And once you do...

That's my two cents on the subject.

reply to post by AfterInfinity


I agree, its never too late. We have to wake up though. I do have hope we as a collective will change our course and do whats right, just because its the right thing to do.

reply to post by MamaJ


How many people do you know that would die to do what's right? I don't know very many. It's easier to be sorry for those who are lost than to lose for those who aren't sorry.

reply to post by AfterInfinity


I know only a few people who would. Mostly my family.

Not sure about the "lost" ones. There are moments of being lost and some never find their way, however I pity those people. Putting myself in their shoes I do have sorrow for the ones who do not make it back to the light of integrity.

We do need less materialism and consumerism though.... my opinion of course.

Holding on to things that are meaningless does in the end set a stage for emptiness.

reply to post by MamaJ


Butler Shaffer is a law professor &, one might say, a proponent of the principle of nonaggression, voluntarism, free markets, etc.

Sharp dude. Really sharp dude.

Interview:

Thank you, deeply!
I wish I could drag everyone I know here to read your post.
It is quickly becoming lost.

There was more, but the 2 year old got the better of me and I lost the entire train of thought.
I still wanted to say thank you.

reply to post by woodsmom


Oh I remember the days of having a toddler. Mine are now 12 and 15! Love the toddler years and really any year. They grow up so quick.

Thank you as well. I wish I could get everyone to read it too and take a step back to see where they fit in.

We have to grow together and help one another seek "cooperation" instead of war.

Integrity is where its at!

reply to post by Kovenov


Ahhh..... I see why you like this cat. He does sound like someone to admire.

Are you a law student? Just wondering how you stumbled upon Butler Shaffer?

I'm all about peace... cooperation is key.

reply to post by MamaJ


No, not a law student. I am going to school, but not to study law.

reply to post by Kovenov


What is your main study?

reply to post by MamaJ


Was to be a hybrid of computer science & physics, but I've committed to math straight up.

reply to post by MamaJ


Another awesome post MamaJ!

I always enjoy reading your posts, they bring much light, love, wisdom and serenity to ATS.

reply to post by PlanetXisHERE


Why, thank you so much for such sweet words, I appreciate it!!

If I could change the world, I would... and I try. I love your posts as well.

Giving, loving, treating others how you would like to be treated could bring this world one day to peace.

I long for it and I know you do as well.

Originally posted by MamaJ
Integrity

What is integrity?

I find it hilarious that you mention Martin Luther King as the paragon of integrity, while his plagiaristic exploits are well known. Some integrity, my arse.

reply to post by MamaJ

We now have a society who look for personal fulfillment beyond measures.
A concern for:
~ The self only
~ Domination
~ Competition,
~ Separation with a superiority complex.
~ Oriented by wealth, possessions, fear, and the status quo.

Those people right there? They have infiltrated the halls of power and are busy running the whole thing over a cliff. Like you say they don't care about any but themselves. One thing they do care about is anyone pointing out their faults in this regard. They go over the cliff first.

All they hear when you rise up about integrity is blah, blah, blah. Big words huh? This person needs to be shut up.. Thats what they spend all their time doing. Taking over, acquiring wealth and squashing dissent. It keeps them busy.

We now have a society who look for personal fulfillment beyond measures. A concern for: ~ The self only ~ Domination ~ Competition, ~ Separation with a superiority complex. ~ Oriented by wealth, possessions, fear, and the status quo.

reply to post by intrptr


This above that you quoted is the opposite of who I am.

I was not only taught at any early age to be the opposite, but it is who I am.

My Bf, funny enough is this way and so is his son. We are opposites learning from one another and believe me, we clash A LOT.

I feel as though I am molding them to be less of all the above and they are teaching me to be more of the above. I want to please everyone, make everyone happy and seem to sometimes go over board with my dream land of how things should be. I am a Pisces and believe me, every word they say about Pisces is ME... to the "T".

A balance of competitiveness, selfishness, ego and wealth is where its at, but people today are either one extreme or another. Giving of ones self is hard, but we must do it.

Our experiences seem to mold and shape us. I have seen a whole lot of death in my 40 yrs and my Bf has not. He doesn't understand my way of thinking. He doesn't put himself in my shoes. Im working though... to pass on the lamp/light.

Understanding and cooperation along with a balance of self and materialism can go along way.

Again, I think Manly Hall says it well. He is a great teacher!!



"Those who attain Integrity must pass on the lamp."

"The truth will not fail upon the Earth."

Those people right there? They have infiltrated the halls of power and are busy running the whole thing over a cliff. Like you say they don't care about any but themselves. One thing they do care about is anyone pointing out their faults in this regard.

reply to post by intrptr


Yeah, I feel ya!

This is where the ancient story of Esau comes into my mind.

He was a taker... and so the story goes.... God hated him.

In an experience... one is either a taker or a giver.

If we were all givers; not a child, man, or woman would ever go hungry.