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Commentary: Everyday integrity

  • Published
  • By 1st Lt. Richard J. Moore
  • 386th Expeditionary Mission Support Group
SOUTHWEST ASIA --  We've likely all heard this definition of integrity: "Do the right thing, even when nobody's looking." Or there's the quote attributed to Edmund Burke: "All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing."

But how does "integrity" really fit into everyday life?

Personal accountability starts with personal empowerment. Most of us make excuses. I will be the first to admit that I'm equally guilty of doing so. "How was I supposed to know that? Oh, that's just how it has always been done. There's nothing I could have done."

Do we really believe these statements? We shouldn't. The truth is that we are all capable of forging our own destiny. As human beings, we are in complete possession of the tools and potential to surmount any challenge. I'm not saying everything can be done by a single individual. Just know that the solution is available all along; it simply needs you to think it. With that in mind, all our "excuses" ring hollow in my ears. So, the first part of everyday integrity is to remember that we do have the capability, and therefore we are responsible for the world around us.

Another important aspect of integrity is our sense of community. While I am not my brother's keeper, and neither is he mine, we are so much more when we work together. This can be seen in any modern-day challenge. What would a pilot be without munitions or fuel? What would a great quarterback be with no other talent on his team? The results of joint effort are so obvious, yet we often ignore each other. We are wingmen to the world, and we should remember that helping each other will benefit everyone. So, the second part of everyday integrity is truly caring for your wingman, because together we are great.

Bringing this together is the most difficult part, because it challenges how we see ourselves. To borrow from the book, "Leadership and Self-Deception" by the Arbinger Institute, "we need to get out of the box." To paraphrase, most of us waste a lot of time and energy resisting reality. A bad person does not necessarily consider themselves to be bad. In a lesser way, we justify the little evils we perpetrate every day. We spend so much time being selfish that it blinds us to the hurt we cause. Without giving away the whole book, I can simply say that life is not all about me, and it lessens my integrity if I do not keep that in mind.