“Integrity without knowledge is weak and useless, and knowledge without integrity is dangerous and dreadful”—Samuel Johnson.
Like global warming, the pandemic, and the global economic recession, the moral crisis is seriously threatening the stability of public and private life.
Every age has its losses. At the same time that we are losing the polar ice caps, the famous glaciers of the Andes and the Himalayas, we are also losing the interest in upholding and respecting principles that were considered valid in previous centuries and generations.
Integrity has long been regarded as one of the most important human qualities, necessary for creating and maintaining a climate of good understanding and cohabitation between individuals and groups. Things seem to be changing. Integrity is sinking into the mire of human degradation and tragedy. Triviality and corruption increasingly occupy public and private spaces. Analyses and assessments point to a deep and complex systemic suffering that is becoming pervasive—the integrity deficit disorder.
The bad news
News anchors emphasise the worst and most provocative side of daily events, with the conspicuous aim of increasing audiences and ratings. News editors are aware that they are broadcasting untruths, or at least unreliable information, alongside the real facts and events. But the drive for efficiency and profit leads producers to unscrupulously overlook this “slip-up”. Exaggerations, tendentious claims and truncated truths are part of the arsenal used in the battle for media survival and a loyal audience.
Viewers are bombarded daily with news of facts, stories and events involving both public figures and ordinary people. On the one hand, “bombshell” news is demanded by the public’s curiosity and need for sensationalism, creating the conditions for media exaggeration. On the other hand, the public has become so used to bad news that what should be shocking no longer frightens anyone. That’s why the ratings-driven media have to offer more and more. The long-term effect is that evil, presented as an evil curiosity, becomes closer and more familiar to news consumers.
The next step after getting used to the negative details of everyday news is the spread of bad habits among the audience. Unfortunately, the press has become a medium for propagating violent and immoral behaviour, and for abolishing correct ways of living and decent and positive communication.
A journalist from a newsroom was recently asked why the channel does not broadcast positive things. The answer was simple and convincing: such stories don’t sell, the audience changes the channel and the station loses loyal viewers. The recipient demands sensationalism, pays for it and the media responds to the demand. This is the rule of the modern information trade, the journalist concluded. While the media ostentatiously and often manipulatively expose the public and private entanglements of public figures, corruption is on the rise at state, local and individual levels. We need a diagnosis, but above all we need a system to treat the moral disease.
At a high level
A few years ago, a non-governmental organisation was set up to monitor the state of integrity and corruption in almost every country in the world. The authors of the Global Integrity Report lament that, in recent years, the most serious threat from a corruption perspective has been government administration. Despite the difficulties of gathering information from government circles in the Arab world, this ambitious and necessary project takes important steps towards identifying and categorising the state of abnormality in the world’s highest circles.
The attention of journalists, financial experts, and researchers in the field is focused primarily on the laws governing the financing of political activities. In a number of countries, including Angola, Belarus, Cambodia, China, Georgia, Iraq, Montenegro, Nicaragua, Serbia, Somalia and Yemen, integrity indicators are falling. Curiously, Central and Eastern Europe manages to remain in the average integrity zone, despite the exaggerated talk and scandals in the media. A worrying finding of the report is the deteriorating situation of administrative, public and private integrity in the countries of the Horn of Africa. The experts explain that the state of social unrest, insecurity, and instability in the region is the main cause of corruption.
Integrity agencies
Politicians cannot stand by and do nothing, because they are the first to be scrutinised and the ones responsible for the situation. This is why integrity commissions and agencies have been created. As the profession of lobbyist has become highly sought after and well paid, the imagination and methods of those who specialise in influencing laws and legislators has had to be subject to very strict control. These forums are entrusted with overseeing the integrity of political operations, the legislative process, and public life.
In order to bring about moral and ethical reform of the administrative structure and public officials, the New York State Commission on Public Integrity was created by special legislation in 2007. This Commission continues the work of previous bodies and is empowered to take any legal action necessary to improve the confidence of taxpaying citizens in the actions of government and public institutions. Government commissions operate on the same model in other American states and on other continents, with the aim of maintaining integrity and promoting the ethical standards to which any representative of the state or employee of lobbying firms must adhere.
Corruption versus integrity
Corruption is defined in Merriam Webster’s Dictionary as the impairment of integrity, virtue, or moral principle; inducement to wrong by improper or unlawful means (as bribery); a departure from what is right and pure in purpose and intention (Merriam-Webster Online English Dictionary, 2010). Integrity is identified as behaving in accordance with agreed or socially accepted moral standards and includes demonstrating this commitment by taking responsibility for one’s actions. At the same time, integrity is an affirmation of one’s stance regarding the truth and the expression of that truth, especially when people are unwilling to hear it. Integrity is partly synonymous with honesty, fairness, loyalty and honour.
Integrity is for everyone
Integrity is not just a requirement for dignitaries whose wealth is under scrutiny by state structures. Defined as a set of right actions and attitudes generated by the right motives, maintaining integrity should be a general and deep concern of every person. Even though socio-political and cultural conditions influence the level and quality of private moral life, integrity ultimately remains a matter of personal choice and option.[1]
According to psychologist Barbara Killinger, an individual can choose to view life, people, and their behaviour either from the perspective of a quest full of understanding and respect for the human being, or from the perspective of a cold and ruthless judgement based solely on logic and perfectionist expectations. An observer who adopts a position of arrogant superiority is bound to become overconfident and proud of his own achievements. Such an attitude will sooner or later lead to distrust of others and to pessimism, lack of patience and lack of understanding. Such a personality will develop a serious lack of integrity, despite firm personal convictions that meet the standards of goodness and fairness.
Killinger’s analysis also highlights a number of risk factors that seriously damage the list of personal values. One of the most active agents of integrity degradation is overwork. People who overwork themselves gradually ruin not only their health and personal relationships, but above all their ability to see the world and their fellow human beings in a balanced and fair way. Other factors blamed for the loss of faith in the principle of integrity are personal and public insecurity, and lack of respect and personal dignity. All these dimensions of life are intertwined and interrelated.
Attitudes and behaviours that promote the development of personal integrity:
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For the better
The prospect of moral healing in society and in personal life should not be viewed with scepticism or as a losing battle from the outset. Each individual has practical, concrete, and simple options that can contribute to moral healing and personal wholeness. Paying more attention to those around us, and especially to children, would bring about a genuine moral revolution, since children are still capable of discerning and practising the rules of correct living and coexistence. Their innocence could also rub off on us. On the other hand, society would benefit greatly if today’s children had heroes of integrity to choose from in their immediate environment.
Barbara Killinger proposes a brief guide[2] for parents and educators on how to integrate moral values into children’s lives:
- Express your moral beliefs simply and clearly to your children, and explain the logical mechanisms behind and underlying your statements. Do not digress, as this confuses children.
- Remember that children’s minds are not ready for abstract concepts until they are 7-8 years old. Use words and illustrations that they can understand.
- Ask children to explain in their own words what they have understood and do not interrupt them. The respect you show children will work in your favour.
- When facts and stories with moral connotations appear in the media, ask children to comment on what they see or hear. This will give them the opportunity to form and affirm their attachment to what is good, beautiful, and right. When integrity is seen as a source of personal joy and fulfilment, when it is consciously pursued and developed, both personal well-being and national or global integrity are given a chance to survive and recover.
