If you look up integrity in a Webster dictionary, you will
find a varied definition; “Unimpaired moral principals,
honesty, soundness.” And also, “The quality of
being whole or undivided.”
Doubting
that definition, I looked at the index page of my New Webster’s
Dictionary of the English Language. It bore a copyright of
1975, 1976 and was published by Delair
Publishing Co. of N.Y., N.Y.
The
definition was what I had expected it to be but — by
considering today’s standards, I thought I should look
it up in another source. The definition I found on the web
page titled, “Your Dictionary.com was: 1. The quality
or state of being complete, unbroken condition, wholeness,
entirety. 2. The quality or state of being unimpaired; perfect
condition; soundness. 3. The quality or state of being of sound
moral principle; uprightness, honesty and sincerity. The definition
went on to say, “When someone is said to be a person
of integrity, this generally means that he/she is considered
to have a strong moral character. Integrity is thought
by many to be one of the most important virtues a person
can
possess.
Although
I found the definitions I expected, I did not find any that
fit today’s standards. As I see it,
integrity barely exists in the world we are living in.
If you wonder why I have that opinion, watch a few news broadcasts.
As I write this column, it’s Sunday and I’m watching “Meet
the Press” with host David Gregory as efforts continue
to stem the flow of oil on the Gulf’s bottom. The CEO
and managing director of BP have both changed their answers
to questions repeatedly, in fact, too many times to keep a
count. Although everyone claims BP is “In Charge,” they
profess to not know what is happening or what will happen
in the future.
They deny events occurred saying reports were wrong even though
the public was watching events take place. Do they not know
when the cameras are rolling? Not unlike findings regarding
the Minerals Management Service, where proof is piling up that
little or no integrity existed in that group. A whole lineup
of government officials are swearing (and soon under oath we
hope) they knew nothing about the operations of Minerals Management
Service. This in spite of the fact it has now been declared
and proven many members of that agency were pampered (that
was the word used) by oil industry leaders.
As I watched David Gregory interview the BP executive
a very pointed question he asked, and asked again;
do you
think
BP CEO Tony Hayward (who according to reports received
a 41 percent
increase in pay in 2009) should be fired? This question
was asked of a man who works under Hayward. You can
guess his
answer — it
made the Hayward sound like a choir boy.
The
program continued as Gregory put the president’s
EPA director Lisa Jackson, who is responsible for all environmental
decisions made, on the hot seat. He very bluntly asked, “How
could this disaster have happened?” First she explained
the Mineral Management Agency no longer exists. (Perhaps someone
stayed behind long enough to shred all their documents). That
was not the answer Gregory was after, it sounded rehearsed,
made on behalf of her boss — the President.
She continued to fumble along telling the country
we are
now facing the
worst environmental disaster in history.
Finally they ran out of time for her to continue
begging off.
Both
people interviewed were asked serious questions that the
American public want answered. They
not only side-stepped
answering,
but changed up the questions. Does this not
demonstrate a lack of integrity? Since the disaster most
of
BP’s answers
given by their “spokespersons” have lacked integrity.
Statements like; “We are prepared to try a different
approach to stop or control the oil flow if the Top Fill process
fails.” That was untrue and proven so by the fact they
announced when the Top Fill effort was abandoned, “It
will take four to seven days to get the equipment set up for
our next effort.” Does that sound like
they were prepared?
I’m so amazed by the continuous use of excuses given,
the worst being – “nothing like this has ever happened
before.” Obviously, not only has it never happened, no
study was ever made to determine what to do if it did happen.
Did someone just think it was not possible? And if so — who
were they? All of them certainly lacked integrity.
If
BP know about the problem 11 months ago as reports state,
why wasn’t something
done? Was this not the worst case of lack
of integrity?
There
really is
no reason to
wonder
why our world is in such a mess, see the
definition of Integrity!