Finding out the truth is all that’s important, nothing else counts
Ibelieve it’s incredibly important to stand up for what you believe in, and as important to have constructive debate with those you disagree with.
In fact, the latter is arguably more important – you never know, you could be wrong?
As a wise man once said to me, nothing worthy is easy.
If I’m honest, I don’t make a stand as often as I should. I’m superstitious, which annoys me no end! I fear ‘bad karma’ and genuinely dislike the idea of upsetting people, which makes debating tough.
However it forces me to make my choices well. The first question I always ask myself is ‘do I really care?’.
Then ‘If so, why?’. And finally, ‘would I be willing to lose more than I gain?’
Those questions are designed to help me overcome any ego that stands between me and the truth. There is, after all, only one truth. Feelings matter, facts matter, relationships matter, sometimes even statistics matter, but none of them matter if they are not true.
Truth is the currency of integrity and integrity is how we value ourselves and each other.
Change the rules of truth and society falls apart.
This is borne out in so many things we see around us today. The thing about currency is that if it's not accepted where you trade, then it’s worthless, just like the truth in a debate.
All very serious and unnecessarily deep stuff, especially for a whimsical opinion writer.
But how is one to form an opinion without the truth? Very easily actually, like ridiculously easy.
But if you want to be heard and seen as a person of integrity then you have accepted one thing - you could be wrong.
By reminding ourselves that we could be wrong we’ll never lose our humility. So, truth, integrity and humility are what I strive for. I don’t always achieve it. One time when I was growing up a little girl was bullying my sister. This was true, for integrity I couldn’t hit a girl, so out of humility I picked on her big brother.
He proceeded to beat me up, comprehensively. He kicked me around the playground like Boris Johnson at a kid’s rugby training session. But I got up at the end, told him to tell his sister not to pick on my sister and the bullying stopped. After that, the only one getting bullied was me.