Integrity And Moral Clarity
Integrity takes a very long time to build. The choices you make over years and decades compound in what you identify as your integrity.
It comes from many things, like having the ability to sit with uncomfortable truths about yourself without tearing yourself down, not letting others dictate what is important to you, having the courage to protect something you love, to speak up, and to keep the promises you make to yourself alone.
These are some of the hardest parts of integrity, but the part that doesn’t get as much attention is what this helps you develop.
The price of integrity is often the consequences you least want to face, the fear of being judged, and the vulnerability it requires. The older I get, the less afraid of those consequences I am. I’d rather say “I was wrong. I missed that,” than try to defend myself; make a mistake than pretend I was right; love with my whole heart than hide in regret; be abandoned than abandon myself.
Keeping my integrity has cost me opportunities, relationships, community, and money. I’ve made mistakes, taken risks, but I’ve shown up authentically. Living with this way is hard. But it's far preferable to letting your standards, your values, or your boundaries erode.
Having standards that you never cede is lonely. No one else does that for you. You’re likely going to be the only person who knows what you went through to hold them, even if you do it publicly.
While that is a painful journey, it means you aren’t willing to falter on those standards for anyone or anything. And that is rare. It is something hard-fought and hard-won. And it also means no one can take it from you. It comes entirely from you.
When you are not afraid of what other people think of you for holding the line on your integrity, you can’t be manipulated or bought.
I think about this a lot when I think of human rights, science, and their intersection with politics. It’s clear when a politician lacks integrity. They will use canned responses to dismiss concern. They will blame-shift. They will not accept responsibility. They will say anything to twist or bend the narrative away from the shared public truth.
I had a conversation with Megan Mayhew about this very subject. We talked about moral clarity in writing. Specifically, the work of Rachel Carson, a scientist who wrote the book Silent Spring, calling out the human and environmental harm that DDT was causing the globe. U.S. President John F. Kennedy was so impacted by the book that he ordered his federal science advisory committee to investigate the effects of DDT. It was later banned in the United States in 1972, in part as a result of Carson’s writing.
Carson’s book is imbued with moral clarity and, most importantly, integrity.
As a consequence of her moral clarity, she was belittled and attacked by the petrochemical industry. They were afraid of her. But in the end, their words could not change the truth. DDT was and is an environmental harm that continues to this day.
When scientists (or anyone) dares to hold fast to their integrity, it can literally change the world. Our society faces immense ecological breakdown and widespread inequality. As tough as these challenges are, the biggest obstacle isn’t finding a solution, but having leaders and systems that are accountable and dare to act with moral clarity and integrity.
Today it is more important than ever, and more needed than ever, for people to have the courage to act with integrity and speak the truth.
Mike
Photo Credit: Ginkaku-ji. Kyoto, Japan. Photo by Mike DiGirolamo