57. Integrity is about what you aspire to, not how you are
For SPs integrity means navigating between standards and practice. Practice does not necessarily have to mirror the standard, but standards should not be too distant from practice. This is a question of SPs bringing practice closer to standards instead of lowering standards to practice. Integrity is about making a difference here.
We saw above that we have standards (ideals, values, and principles) on the one hand and practice, on the other, and that the two should not be equated. We have also seen that integrity does not exist, and we must take care not to expect perfection from SPs. At the same time this does not mean that we should throw integrity overboard, prioritizing practice over standards.
For SPs integrity means navigating between standards and practice. On the one hand practice does not necessarily have to mirror the standard, but on the other hand the standards should not be too distant from practice. We should avoid being too relativistic (continually adapting to what happens in practice), or too idealistic (ignoring reality). It is a question of bringing practice closer to standards, not lowering standards to practice. Ideally standards should function as a magnet: practice should be attracted towards the standard, not vice versa.
Integrity is not so much about SPs being perfect,345 as about aspiring to integrity. Striving for integrity in itself harbors integrity, even if we strive for something that can never fully be achieved. As Stephen Carter puts it, “The life lived with integrity is a life of striving toward the good and the true.”346 Even if we never achieve what is good and true, integrity lies in chasing after it. Integrity in that respect is not only a journey of discovery of what our own integrity contains and means (see chapter 11), but also like climbing a mountain, continually ascending without ever reaching the summit.
Machiavelli was right when he stated that people should learn not to be too virtuous in a none-too-virtuous world.347 We have to be realistic. However, we should not go too far or start out lacking virtue. Integrity is about continually trying to be a little more virtuous than before (growing personal integrity), than others (relative integrity), and than others think you should (surpassing expectations). The question for SPs is where they can make a difference, as personal integrity lies in making a difference.