Laura Bramble

The Latest Fad- Integrity...

I saw a commercial on TV yesterday that was so obvious in its message, I couldn't believe that someone on Madison Avenue probably got paid a lot of money to dream it up. It was for a well known national brand of peanut butter. The printed message at the end of the commercial summed up the whole barrage of warm and fuzzy images and voiceovers. It showed a jar of this peanut butter and said "The brand you can trust." The commercial itself was not disturbing. What was disturbing was that anyone should ever be given cause to distrust something as basic as peanut butter. It makes you wonder what's next, what else someone will do without regard to the consequences just for a few extra bucks .

It seems like every time we open the paper, turn on the news, or log into the internet we are hit with yet another story of how yet another person has lied, cheated, stolen, manipulated, or abused the trust of others. Our national consciousness has been assaulted by the likes of Bernie Madoff, Tom Daschle, Rod Blagojevich, the top executives of most of this nation's formerly premier financial institutions, Ted Stevens, Alex Rodriguez- the list goes on and keeps growing by the day. People are frustrated and outraged with actions taken in the name of greed and excess. They are beginning to question if the pursuit of more is worth the cost. They are taking a long hard look at simplicity and a life of transparency and integrity, and guess what? To many it's looking pretty darned good.

Integrity is a classic; it may not always be the hottest thing, but it never totally goes out of style. The pendulum is swinging yet again, from excess without accountability or responsibility to a more low key, sensible lifestyle. Even the uber-wealthy find it uncomfortable to flaunt their wealth as they have in recent years. I, for one, say it's about time. The national lack of integrity has cost us all a great deal: lack of faith in each other, a erosion of a strong ethical example for our children, fiscal insecurity and precious tax dollars. I don't know if we'll ever know the real cost. The key to preventing this from happening again is simple, but a challenge we have been unable to overcome. If everyone operated with integrity, most of the difficulties we find ourselves in as individuals, and as a nation, would never grow to such crippling proportions. Each of us making the commitment to act with integrity in our own lives would be the beginning of a seismic shift that would alter the societal fabric of our nation. All we have to do is to follow through and just do it.

This integrity fad is one whose time has come, and not a moment too soon. Unfortunately, most fads have a short shelf life. Let's hope that unlike mullets, parachute pants, and UGG boots, this one sticks around for a good, long time.

Laura Bramble

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