84. Integrity is like being a lady: if you have to tell people you have it, you do not
SPs should avoid claiming to possess integrity in order to ward off accusations. Since no one fully embodies integrity, this response reveals a lack of self-knowledge, and since self-knowledge is an aspect of integrity, it also reveals a lack of integrity. It is better to state that the accusations are incorrect or deny having committed the suspected transgressions. Integrity, however, demands that SPs do not (1) allow accusations to wash over them, (2) too readily accept punishment, or (3) parade a lack of integrity.
The previous chapter addressed the question of the extent to which violations of integrity by others affect one’s own integrity and how this is best handled, but what should you do if people cast doubt on your integrity, if there are indications that you lack integrity yourself, or if you are confronted with hard evidence? This question is addressed in this chapter and the next.
SPs tend to counter accusations of abuse of power with claims of integrity. However, this is not a good defense. What Margaret Thatcher said of power applies to integrity too.472 Having integrity is like being a lady: if you have to tell people you possess this quality, then you do not. Why is that?
SPs who claim to have integrity will be seen by others as conceited, self-satisfied, or arrogant, acting as if they are “without sin”, irreproachable, without shortcomings or idiosyncrasies. Since no one is perfect (see chapter 54), people who set themselves up as having integrity show a lack of self-knowledge, and self-knowledge is an aspect of integrity. Saying that you have integrity therefore reveals a lack of integrity.
It is better to say that false accusations are incorrect, or, better still, that you have never committed the suspected transgressions. This avoids extending the accusation to apply to a whole person or the entirety of their behavior, limiting it to the specific behavior or trait that the accusations relate to. By delimiting the issue and the denial, you avoid making too general or too stubborn a proclamation, thereby making it easier for others to counter. If SPs use claims of integrity as a defense, this is an invitation to others to bring new accusations to prove that they are lying (or at least have a selective memory).
If a positive claim regarding personal integrity is desirable, it is more credible and safer for someone else to make it, and the more independent and authoritative they are, the greater the value of the claim. There may be few people willing to do this, because when you make such claims you bind your own integrity with that of the accused. If a lack of integrity is subsequently demonstrated, you then become associated with it. Standing up for others also means running the risk of being accused of favoritism, nepotism, and arrogance in power. Avoiding presenting yourself as a person of integrity should not mean going too far in the opposite direction. A mayor once stated that when there were rumors about personal integrity one should act small in order to emerge the bigger person.473 He was right that people who are accused should not puff themselves up, presenting themselves as invulnerable, showing resistance, and frustrating the process. At the same time this does not mean that SPs should make themselves small. People with self-respect, which is an important element of integrity, will stand up for themselves, and will not passively allow accusations and investigations to wash over them. If you remain passive, this feeds the image that you are not interested in personal criticism and accusations, that integrity is unimportant to you, that you are ready to let people walk all over you, and that you lack autonomy, identity, and pride. The saying that you should sit still while you are being shaved creates the wrong image of integrity. An alderman responded powerfully when he was publicly accused by his officials: “I won’t put up with being called a fraud. I cannot operate as an alderman when my integrity is in question.”474
At the same time, SPs should avoid too readily accepting punishment, or even parading a lack of integrity. Such eagerness arouses the suggestion that you are making insufficient efforts to combat accusations and to operate with integrity in your position, as if y