What does it mean to be a person of integrity?

Dictionary.com describes integrity as:

1. adherence to moral and ethical principles; soundness of moral character; honesty.

2. the state of being whole, entire, or undiminished: to preserve the integrity of the empire.

3. a sound, unimpaired, or perfect condition: the integrity of a ship’s hull.

If I go by the definition of the dictionary, being a person of integrity means that they use ethical practices in their life whether it is at home or at their business or place of employment. A person of integrity is honest. A person of integrity has moral character.

If we read our newspapers, Internet news or listen to television and radio broadcasts, it would seem to cast doubt whether there is much integrity left in this world. People are stealing identities; companies are taking advantage of their customers and their employees. Domestic abuse and alcohol and drug abuse seem to be intruding on all of our lives. We all know someone where these subjects have affected their lives. We don’t trust our neighbors. We don’t trust our employees. We don’t trust our employers.

We have to lock our doors. We have to have security systems installed. We have to watch our kids closely to keep them safe. Was it always like this and we didn’t know it because we didn’t have the media coverage? Or are there fewer people with integrity in this world, and if there are why?

It is easy to point the finger and find other people with little integrity. But if we are going to go by the definition in the dictionary, then we really have to look at ourselves, too. Are we a person of integrity? How do we determine that someone is a person of integrity?

I have a friend that I have known since high school. I respect him and I believe him to be a person of integrity. I have watched his actions over the years and see that he has dealt with people fairly, sticks to his word and treats others with respect. He has lived his life and shown the world his principles and beliefs. That is what we can see and that is what we respect. I would suspect, however, that he would say that he hopes he is a person of integrity but he knows himself very well and there are probably sides he does not let us see, which would sometimes make him doubt his integrity.

I would like people to think I am a person of integrity. I do have a moral compass, but I am so human that I know those bounds have been stretched and broken many times in my life. There is a lot we hide to the world. I am not always truthful because I do not always say what I think. I suspect many people of integrity are smiling on the outside but gritting their teeth on the inside. Does that break the bounds of integrity? Does that make them any less honest in your eyes? Maybe it is hard to be a person of integrity because we don’t tell ourselves the truth about our lives and situations.

If we follow definition No. 2, which is the state of being whole or undiminished it would mean that inside and out we are the same person. That would be true integrity. Of course, we may never be found out in the way Bernie Madoff was found out. I suspect many people thought he was a person of integrity, too. Can anyone be that person who is whole and undiminished?

I long to be able to trust in integrity again. It seems we now lack trust in that word because it seems to apply to so few situations and maybe even people or companies. Where did we lose it? When and why did we quit trusting our neighbors, our employers, our employees and even ourselves?

Can we get our moral compass back? Can we become a person of integrity even if we doubt we can? Would are world be a better place if we tried? Will we ever know?

Wells resident Julie Seedorf’s column appears every Monday. Send e-mail to her at thecolumn@bevcomm.net or visit her blog at www.justalittlefluff.blogspot.com.