Intergrity

In a couple of my classes lately, the topic of integrity has come up. In my Principles of Journalism, we just had a presentation on ethics and integrity in the field of journalism. We talk about integrity a lot in my religion classes as well. Obviously, it's a trait that can and should be applied to all areas of our life, whether it be in school work, personal relationships, or in the professional field.

As I've grown up, I have noticed a steadily declining level of integrity in people as a whole. It has suddenly become more acceptable to cheat in class, have infidelity issues, and to lie in order to get what you want. Watching this, it makes me really sad. It makes me scared to raise children in this world, because of the mixed messages in which they will be getting from the media, friends, and many other areas. It makes me grateful to have been raised by parents who have a lot of integrity and have taught me that it's better to be honest than avoid getting in trouble for something.

There is a quote by President Hinckley that I love that goes "Wrong is still wrong even if everyone's doing it. Right is still right even if no one's doing it." It is so true! I look at tv, magazines, and even classmates from my graduating class, and I see the lives they live. They don't think there is anything wrong with living with significant others before marriage, lying, etc. But we must always remember it's importnat to do what's right, even when no one else is doing it.

The presentation was very interesting and I enjoyed listening to the presenter speak. He gave a lot of excellent points that I plan on implementing in my own life.