integrity

Integrity.Integrity.Integrity. Have you ever wondered what integrity means? Well from the reliable dictionaries, I found that definition of integrity actually means adherence to moral and ethical principles; soundness of moral character; honesty. However, most people lack this important value. One group in particular.......
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Video:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1xqXO9cj8uE
This video shows Ben Johnson breaking a world record (at that time) and eventually also winning the much coveted Olympics gold medal! However, Ben Johnson became a hero to zero. A few days later he was labeled as a doper (an athlete who take steroids to enhance his performance). He was cricticised again and again. The criticism continued for very long, right until today!

As I reflected on what he has done, a question came to mind, 'Is it worth it?' Should Ben Johnson have taken those steroids just for that short-lived fame and "good" feeling? Or should he just be honest, not take those steroids, so as not to suffer all the criticism raining down on him and live a much peaceful life?

Really, is this worth it?

Recently, I also read an article on integrity. It talks about people hacking on the Internet and participating in online petitions multiple times, thus making online petitions losing their credibility! They can easily use fake names to create different email addresses. As a result, people who create online petitions have stepped up security by asking more questions to thwart hackers. Notwithstanding this, hackers are still able to hack. Again, the question popped into my mind-Is it worth it?

There is a chance that they could be caught. The hackers who probably have the calibre to become a promising engineer will then waste their potential. Why would someone actually want to throw their potential down the drain?

Seriously, I feel that if you have integrity, you might lose something but you will gain something more! For example, a person from a bully gang decided to quit from the gang after having led years of his life void of integrity and conscience. He made this decision inspite of the fact that he knew he would probably be beaten up by his former "friends"and lose both his pride and confidence. He was sensible in that he knew he would make better friends who are of better influence to him, at least then, he would not live the rest of his life in reget!

A similiar case happened recently too...
During the Japan Open...
In game 5 of the semi-final match between Wang Liqun and Wang Hao, Liqun faulted on his serve when the ball made contact with his jersy. However,the umpire didn't realise! To everybody's surprise, Wang Liqun eventually walked over to the umpire's scoreboard and flipped the point card, giving Wang Hao a 12-11 lead and the latter eventually won the match, 4-2.

Even though he was eliminated from the competition, and losing a chance to win the competition, he received an overwhelming round of applause from the crowd. This is true sportmanship and integrity indeed!

Video:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oF7yPuQ5p1I