The Quality of Integrity

Honesty is a characteristic and a value that most people consider a requisite for successful interactions and moral fundamentality. When someone gives us reason to mistrust them, the damage is usually permanent. Unfortunately, our society rarely rewards honesty. Most of the media we consume is laced with a subliminal context and an ulterior motive. Either to inform, persuade or entertain, and of these three the agenda of the publisher is undoubtedly influenced by money or popularity, succumbing to both in traditional business models. The popularity brings in the bacon and popular topics generate conversations which lead to new ideas designed to profit on the current affairs. So everyone sort of wins, especially where information and entertainment are involved, but except when there is a deficiency of integrity. As consumers, we're complaisant whilst business provides us with our expectations, however as soon as there is a sign of a breach in that exchange, its quite possible to bring mentioned corporations to the ground through boycotting. Recent fears of violation to personal data via Facebook has witnessed many users leaving the platform, for example to alternative social networking websites. Integrity is rooted in a sense of safety. If you do not feel safe about something/someone it is hard to trust them; if you cannot trust something, you will never feel safe about it either. Remember when E-Cigarettes really started to take off on the market, but now there have been reports of it being more dangerous than Tobacco smoking! Just because something is popular, doesn't mean that it is true, accurate or moral. When your Girlfriend asks you whether the dress makes her look "fat" in the dressing room, she'll know if your response was genuine from the looks she gets at the party... honesty is everything. 

The problem in society is that very few people are always honest. There is no verification (apart from perhaps lie detector tests) that can validate the integrity of anyone. Everyone's word is based on trust. Without trust there cannot be faith in the actions of others. If someone gives false allegations about an account of an incident (eye witness testimony) this often amounts to a course of misjustice. Innocent people are condemned due to the dishonesty and delusion of total strangers.