How to be honest in a dishonest world
Kaieteur News – Today is Good Friday. It is a day when we accept how flawed human existence is. In terms of honesty, many of us would struggle to try to pass a camel through the eye of a needle.
A young policeman explained how difficult it is to be an honest officer in an organization where corruption is rife. He asked you to imagine that you are working with others as part of a team, but when most of them are taking and you are not, then you are likely to be considered a threat and you may be harmed.
This, he says, is how some very honest officials become corrupt. It’s not that they don’t want to be honest. The reason is that they cannot afford to be honest when there is dishonesty around them. If they stand alone as ‘Serpico,’ they stand to face the same fate as he did. If you try to stay honest, you will be disappointed, alienated or victimized, or even worse.
So the young policeman asked how to stay honest when there is dishonesty around. It’s a question that many have had to face, but few have been able to answer.
The world is the way it is. And not the way it should be. And so how can one survive the values of a whole person in a world where these values are under threat.
The answer to that question is not simple. The honest person, the person who is trying to be true to things he or she believes in, should not become frustrated with the disrepair he or she is seeing around.
The way to live is to live someone’s life according to the values, which are dear to someone. We have to live our life the way we want the world to be and not the way the world is. That’s how you make a difference in life.
The first rule is not to give in to weight. Exceptions are exemptions because they are different and do not have to conform to other behaviors or values. You don’t have to follow the crowd. You do not have to give in to weight. You do not have to conform to values that are alien to yours. You can change society by living the life you want to live, and not the life that others are pushing you to live.
The second way to make a difference is to do what’s right. Live the way you want the world to be by doing what’s right. You do not need to make a step. You do not need to steal. Stay on the straight and narrow path and do what is right and the world, for you, will be the way you want it to be.
Third, remember that your job is not to change people. Your success or failure in life should not be judged by how many people you have changed, but how true you are to your own values. As such, do not actively influence people. Let your example be the influence, from which others can draw.
Fourth, try to be the best you can be. Live your perfect life by seeking perfection and aiming to be the best you can be without having to please others. You’re going to make a difference without realizing it.
The world is how it is. It will not change for you. You have to change the world by being you. Even if it means being alone, being without friends, you shouldn’t worry, because you’ll be in good company. Some of the biggest names in the history of man have been people who were considered loners and even exiles, but they had one quality, that everyone who lives the way they want should live.
That quality is perseverance. No matter how difficult going gets, don’t give up. Once you have staying power, you will find that the world has changed far more than you have changed.
(The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of this newspaper.)