Honor and Shame
To introduce his series called Resurrecting the Common Good: Honor and Shame, former United States Secretary of Labor, Robert Reich says, “Too often, we lionize leaders who ‘win’ – who are strong and tough enough to overcome rivals, who are ruthless and hard-hitting enough to generate huge profits, who are ferocious enough to beat all manner of competitors and thugs. But leadership of the sort we need to resurrect the common good is not about winning. It’s not about being tough, ruthless, or ferocious. It’s about attending to the needs of the people who are being led – valuing and elevating the common good that binds them together, earning and building their trust.”
We have seen examples of people who win but have no integrity. Recently the coaching staff of the University of Michigan was punished for stealing play-calling signs. Even in the high-pressure game of college football, there are rules. I’m sure the players on the team are good, and may have had the 10 – 0 record that they currently hold without cheating by their coaches. We will never know. Some of us may remember “deflate-gate,” the allegation that staff working for the former champion New England Patriots sent partially deflated footballs into the game for some of the plays to give their team an advantage and put their opponents at a disadvantage.
We see this happening not only in sports, but in other arenas, including business and politics. Statues have been erected that honor Confederate military and non-military leaders who fought against their country to secede from the Union, traitors under the law.
When we hold up those who seek to win at any cost as heroes to our citizens, friends, and even our children, what kind of example are we setting? Is it any wonder that we feel as though our country, our world, has lost its way?
It is human nature to want to win, to celebrate those we see as winners. Having grown up in religious-based schools most of my childhood and attending weekly services, certain phrases from the guiding book of Christianity have stuck with me. The Gospel of Matthew says that Jesus asked the Pharisees, “For what doth it profit a man, if he gains the whole world, and suffer the loss of his own soul?”
Would you want to remain friends with someone who cheated you? Would a marriage work if one of the spouses made a habit of lying to the other? Would you trust a neighbor who borrowed things and didn’t return them? If we want to be a part of a relationship or community that functions well, we know deep down that trust in the integrity of others is an important feature.
I have also seen examples of people who value compassion and integrity over their own success, and in so doing, achieve greater success. Do you remember high school track star Meghan Vogel? After winning a 1600-meter race, she stopped running during the 3200-meter race to help a fellow runner who had collapsed, cross the finish line ahead of her.
There is hope for us yet, if we hold to the values that unite us, with our compassion and integrity intact.
