Quote of the Week...from Oprah Winfrey

Real integrity is doing the right thing, knowing that nobody's going to know whether you did it or not.
                                                                     Oprah Winfrey.

A few months ago I discussed on this blog another quote by Oprah Winfrey, and in a rather critical manner.  This time around, though, I'm all on board with what she has to say.  For in our society, it is indeed a sign of high character...of integrity...for people to behave ethically and responsibly regardless whether they are out in the open or hidden from others' views and scrutiny.  I think a lot of folks possess integrity to varying degrees, but it is also true that the tendency is sadly for people's behavior to become more selfish, greedy, impatient, and dishonest whenever they feel they are safe from being called out on it.  Take my own experiences the last few days...

I've been on vacation for a few days with Melissa, just arriving back home today.  Whenever we were out around others in public, be it in shops, restaurants, hotels, out walking, or whatever, the other people we saw around us were uniformly considerate, patient, and generous.  But once we got on the road...well, that was entirely different.  It seems that when some people find themselves feeling relatively anonymous within their vehicles, their lower natures come out.  The refusal of someone to let me in because an accident ahead caused a lane closure, the intimidating tailgating I see drivers doing to those directly in front of them, and drivers recklessly zigzagging between cars on the freeway all demonstrate behavior that would never come out were the same people identifiably out in the open with others...and without their vehicles to insulate them...

I heard a sermon a while back on integrity that dovetailed nicely with Oprah's quote.  The bottom line is that the true measure of a person is what they choose to do during the times that no one is present to hold them accountable for it.  So am I the same when I'm alone or driving as when I am physically present around others?  Sigh, I have some work to do in this area...I suspect most of us do...