This morning, I "Googled" the term integrity and came up with the following that I feel explains my view very well.
The Elements of a Person’s Character that Define Integrity
By Mario Cruz
The character elements relating to trustworthiness: honesty, reliability, and loyalty most closely define integrity, but all the elements of character are related to one’s integrity. Respect: consideration of others and tolerance of differences; responsibility: practice of self-control and perseverance; fairness: sharing with others and being receptive to input from others; caring: being kind and compassionate and showing you care; and citizenship: helping to better your community and respecting authority are related to integrity.
When a person is trustworthy, he or she can be relied upon to be honest, reliable, and loyal, which means they have integrity. But it’s equally important to be respectful, responsible, fair, caring, and demonstrate good citizenship, otherwise you are still lacking integrity. Good character and integrity are easiest to demonstrate when facing public disapproval, but the true test comes when you can potentially get away with anything because then nothing is at stake but your own conscience.
I understand why Kerry's dying mother felt the need to remind her son of the need for integrity. Who knows a son's virtues and faults better than a mother? I think she was trying to tell her son not to rely on his virtues, whatever she knew them to be, but to work on his weakness that she knew so well.
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Hi, Pat,
ReplyDeleteHere's something that may put Kerry's "tribute" to his mom into perspective:
After serving with John Kerry, a veteran says Kerry is better suited to serve in the White House. Jim Rassman was in Eau Claire on Tuesday to campaign for Kerry. Rassman says Kerry saved his life when he pulled him out of a river during a battle in Vietnam. Rassman says he voted for Bush in 2000, but says he doesn't plan to back the President this time around. "There are three character traits John has that George Bush does not have and they are integrity, integrity, integrity. I trust John Kerry implicitly. I don't trust a thing George Bush tells me," said Rassman.
From Blogs for Bush and http://www.wqow.com/news/articles/article_1698.shtml
Kerry has a habit of putting words into people's mouth. He did that with Mary Cheney, then his mother. While it is true that a mother knows her children's weaknesses better that most people and while it it is conceivable that she may have said something to him about changing his character before she died, the above quote shows Kerry is lying about where that phrase came from. It's a major character flaw of his: lying when it's completely unnecessary.
Regards,
Elizabeth
Kerry said something to the effect that as his mother lay dying in the hospital he visited her and told her about his thoughts of running for president. Today I cam across a news article on another blog stating that MRs. Kerry died AT HOME.
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