Integrity or Bust
I start every presentation I give with the same catchline, “I’m from Nevada. No, not Las Vegas, but the much better part of Nevada- northeastern Nevada“. I get a few pity laughs from the students, and that’s fine, but what the students do not realize is how much I mean it.
I say northeastern Nevada is better because I believe it with everything in me. Yes, it is a subjective statement, but one I have known to be true the past twenty-six years. My small ranching/mining community is built on strong down-to-Earth beliefs and has been one of the best things that have happened to me. Our local community and surrounding areas have taught generations the importance of supporting one another, grit, sportsmanship, class and has informed me on my first lessons of human dignity and integrity.
On mission with The Culture Project, I get to speak about human dignity daily. I have been given the opportunity to tell young people that they are made with a purpose and for a reason and that they are not defined by their skills and talents. All people are a good creation, and because of that simple fact, we all have inherent dignity and have the highest amount of value. No one can take this dignity away from us. Even during times of dehumanization, dignity still exists in the person.
After that is understood people are still not defined by their accomplishments, but in their character that should be led with integrity. While yes, it is true we all have inherent dignity; we do not have inherent integrity. The integrity of a person is revealing their interior disposition on the outside. It is what separates the mediocre from greatness because character proceeds an action. The character of an individual is built on integrity which encompasses honesty, loyalty, accountability, and self-control. Integrity is taught by leaders and needs a solid foundation to be truly strong and steadfast.
If a person, organization, or team does not possess these qualities, then that’s honestly a shame. A shame that human life is not being upheld with the highest amount of grandeur and it is alarming at how fast this can turn into hypocrisy. When we do not have integrity it is easy to let pride slip in, then from there dehumanization creeps in. I see this happening a lot on the high school level. Students have a lack of integrity, and as a result, they dehumanize one another by putting another down through cheap talk on social media, gossip, rumors, or physical actions.
You see–a person or team can win first place, but at the end of the day if integrity is lacking, then its significance dwindles. Trophies will come then eventually sit on the shelf to collect dust, but the integrity of a person or team will be remembered for years.
While the youth of today are sitting in their bedrooms late at night questioning who they are and what they are made for, I have complete confidence when I say that it is not in their ability to perform in high school activities. They could win first place in everything, but it only holds weight if they realize that it does not define them nor matters if they do not have integrity or class when they do it. Their worth is found in being a good creation. By merely being a breathing human being it gives them improbable value. And with that value they are made to stand tall, respect all people including themselves, and love one another. They are not meant to pass on contemptible traditions, but authentic traditions of integrity, trust, teamwork, and love which upholds their own dignity and others in the process.
This week, when I go into classrooms and give my catchline, I will proudly say that I from the town that laid the foundation for the essential things in life, that without the understanding of the human person and living a life with integrity- everything else will fall short.
