Muninn - 01.05.2016, Blaðsíða 86

84
„Integrity
has no need
for rules“
To live honestly, in accordance to your idea of what’s
right and appropriate to do or say at any given time
must mean to live without any rules, strict moral
codes or predefined standards of behaviour. To be
constantly trying, often unsuccessfully, to morph
one’s behaviour to fit a fixed mould of etiquette is
only dishonesty in another guise. By acting against
one’s most inner felt recognition of right and wrong,
a person can be rightfully accused of a grave sort of
moral deceit. Therefore, a person seeking to be hon-
est and full of integrity should seek to rid his life of
codes, rules, laws and standards.

At first this might seem a very tempting way to
live, and throughout history it has been a lifestyle
preached by bohemian artists and writers wishing
to create a more truthful and heartfelt existence. It’s
a free life, it’s a life without the battle between one’s
own idea of right and society’s idea of what’s appro-
priate, a life where you yourself sit behind the con-
trols.
However, this mode of existence does not
only prove to be free and honest, but also devas-
tatingly exhausting. And the reason for this lies in
the imperfections of the individual. Removing the
conflict between your own reason and the moral
codes you must live by does not leave you free of
moral indecision or untethered in a battle of differ-
ent virtues and convictions. It does just the opposite.
By leaving behind the codes that used to, at least
in some respects, to govern your life you take on a
more serious responsibility of action. To live with full
integrity means to live with a constant awareness , to
be vulnerable to the chaos of the world around you
and the consequences of your actions, because how
else could you act with true conviction? The truth
is that people are, in general, not completely sure
of what’s the most virtuous way to tackle life, their
ideas of morality being submitted to the unrelenting
bombardment of change. Mistakes are made and
learned from, but they also function as a reminder of
how easily one can be led astray and make the wrong
decision, often with catastrophic results. Only for a
perfect man a life of absolute honesty would prove
to be easy, as the flawlessness of his character would
mean that he would never have to encounter moral
strife. For this individual any decision, which might
in the mind of a regular person evoke a serious
conflict, would for him only be mechanical in na-
ture, as his convictions of right and wrong would be
so deep-rooted and apparent that any inner quarrel
would be unthinkable.

The thing is, we aren’t perfect people. To live with
true integrity from cradle to grave would be a life of
such unyielding moral strife that one would be una-
ble to accomplish much else but an abnormal ma-
tureness of character, that is if one would not crack
under this enormous pressure and become a nutcase.
Of course it would be just as bad to denounce this
sort of honest freedom altogether and lively solely
by rules without any personal interference. History
is littered with examples of blind obedience gone
wrong, of people “just following orders”. We both
need to be able to live with rules and without, just
as we both need to be awake and to sleep. To avoid
complete drainage of energy one needs rules and
guidelines of behaviour, just as one requires rest. This
might mean a temporary sacrifice of character, hid-
ing behind a veil of etiquette and submitting oneself
to habits and traditions that don’t always come off as
sensible. Yet it is something that every now and then
proves necessary for one’s own sanity and conserva-
tion of energy. Because while integrity has no need
for rules, we most certainly do.
Erla Sigríður Sigurðardóttir

Þann 20. febrúar keppti Erla Sigríður fyrir
hönd Menntaskólans á Akureyri í National
Speaking Competition, ræðukeppni á ensku
milli íslenskra framhaldsskóla. Erla lenti ekki
í verðlaunasæti en fékk heiðursviðurkenningu
og sögðu dómarar að ræða Erlu hafi verið
challenging and excellent og að innihald
ræðunnar hafi verið very intellectual content.