The value of integrity
Integrity tends to get a bad rap. Being stiffly defined as “steadfast adherence to moral and ethical principles,” it is typically used to describe the uptight and boring people, to accuse the less-than-uptight people, or looked at as some unattainable trait that applies to amazing leaders and role models much older and experienced.
Its sometimes negative connotation could be due to the fact that more often than discussing the good things that come from it, people tend to focus on why so many don’t have it. Society as a whole is more apt to point out the shoplifter than to congratulate the honest shopper. The cheater is punished before the student that studied all night is recognized.
Although integrity is a positive thing, society may just be making it seem harder, more rare and less popular than it really is.
Jon M. Huntsman, Salt Lake City resident and successful billionaire, and father of Utah Governor Jon Huntsman Jr., wrote a book about integrity in the professional world called “Winners Never Cheat.” In it, he writes, “Human beings inherently prize honesty over deceit, even in the remotest corners of the globe.”
But Huntsman also makes it clear that just because we naturally like it, that doesn’t make it necessarily easy to live up to, especially since “adhering to moral and ethical principles” is not always the most popular thing to do.
“Although we regularly treat the terms as if they are equals, there is a difference between popularity (or admiration) and respect,” he writes. “We admire celebrities, but we don’t necessarily respect them. We respect great teachers, but we don’t always like them. Some people earn admiration and respect. If you must choose one, however, go for respect every time.”
“There is, today, a need to reaffirm values that help us determine what is right and what is wrong. I use the term ‘reaffirm’ because this process was passed along and infuse into our very beings by the previous generation. We had unwritten rules for the playgrounds and sandboxes, homes and schools, of our youth. They spoke to basic fairness, decency and integrity. These principles have not changed simply because we have migrated from boxes full of sand to buildings full of desks. We proved ourselves then as we must today: with honor and fairness,” Huntsman said.
Karen Rawlins, who works in the USU Card Office, where the campus lost and found is located, said they get all sorts of things brought into the office that students find around campus. Everything from wallets, jackets and backpacks, to memory chips, iPods, digital cameras and even money.
Rawlins said, “It’s amazing how often people turn things in, it really is. It’s a really good thing. I think it shows how honest people are and the integrity we have here at Utah State.”
In any college bookstore, the potential for lost or stolen items is large. College students have a reputation for high needs and low funds. However, shoplifting is not a big problem for the bookstore on campus.
Taryn Palmer, USU student and bookstore employee, said for the most part, they don’t have many problems with shoplifting. There was one specific event last year with several i-Pods being stolen, but the shoplifters were found to be high school students, and no USU students were involved.
“I think the students here know what’s right and wrong for the most part and do what’s right,” Palmer said. “[They don’t shoplift], one, because they know it’s wrong, and because it’s a business here, and people respect that.”
These are the people who go unnoticed. The ones shooting for respect before admiration. Good Samaritans are not as rare as many might think, even among college students, which says a lot for a massive group of young adults making decisions for themselves.
-msorensen@cc.usu.edu