What you are shouts so loudly that
I cannot hear what you say
                              Ralph Waldo Emerson

I recently listened to an interesting discussion about integrity.  A woman on one of the “reality” TV shows was talking about how she held herself to a high code of ethics and morality.  She apparently believed strongly in such a code and expressed her choice to live by this code.

At the same time, this woman was playing a game (with a payoff of $1,000,000), and she didn’t seem to think there was anything wrong with breaking her code in order to win this game.  More than once, she commented that “it was just a game.”

It is not my purpose to “pick” on this particular woman, in spite of the fact that she also chose to live a small segment of her life in front of millions of TV viewers. 

But, I believe the experiences we observe on this type of show provide us much food for thought!  Can we adopt a code to live by, and in this case a code of integrity, at the same time finding exceptions that make it OK to break that code?  Are we, in fact, living that code if we break it at all?  Most competitions don’t have a prize of $1,000,000, of course, but what about a competition of any kind?  Do we establish a different code because it is a game?

We have come to a place in our American entertainment where anything goes, as long as those involved are playing a game.  Lack of integrity is encouraged, it would seem; because that makes the game more interesting.  I believe it to be a sad expression of who we are.  But, on the plus side (and there is always a plus side), it gives us an opportunity to decide what a value, such as integrity, really means to us.  Sometimes we have to decide who we aren’t before we can decide who we are.

I would wish you a day surrounded by people of integrity,

Lana Keating