Wrong is Wrong and Right is Right (2024)

Full transparency: While searching for a topic to write, I came upon this image (the one above) shared by one of my Facebook friends.

Let me tell you two experiences I had that clearly illustrates the point of the image above.

When I was in college, we had a minor subject taught by an aged teacher. He was a good person. There was nothing wrong with him or with the subject he was teaching.

But the exams were freaking hard! It was kind of an added burden to the current set of exams we were facing from major subjects.

On the final exam of that minor subject, our class decided on a bold move — to cheat.

During the past exams, we noticed that our teacher sleeps soundly while the exam was going on. If everybody talked softly, he wouldn’t notice.

So we took advantage of that. (I’m saying ‘we’ because I did take part in that unfortunate event.)

Some of us used mobile phones while others were asking left and right for answers. A text which contains all the answers were relayed to each and every one of us.

If my memory served me right, every single one of us cheated.

Looking back at it now, I’m not very proud of it.

There were only a few us in our section when I was in high school. But don’t let our numbers deceive you. If we all decided to talk, we sound like three times our number.

One time, we had a teacher who was explaining to us about something. But our class didn’t seem to notice that.

We were noisy and loud while the class was going on. I couldn’t even remember what our teacher was telling us at that time. I just couldn’t hear her from the noise.

Then suddenly, this teacher, out of frustration, broke down and walked out.

Of course, we were shocked! Some of us even panic. It was rare to see a teacher walked out. And if a teacher did, expect a lot of trouble.

The day went on until classes were about to end.

Then the teacher visited us and scolded us.

She told us about one of our classmates (who shall not be named).

This classmate, unbeknownst to our knowledge, sneaked out a few minutes after the incident and went after our teacher.

He apologized to her for what the class did and told her how sorry he was.

The teacher told us that if not for that student, she would’ve punished us. (I can’t remember much of this part, but I think she would’ve failed us or deducted a chunk from our grades or something.)

The first one, everybody was cheating. Everyone was doing it. But even though all of us were in it, it didn’t make our action justifiable. It still wasn’t right.

The second experience clearly illustrated how one can do something right, even if nobody is doing it. I can tell you with confidence that my ‘classmate’ wasn’t even talking during the time our teacher was in class. Yet, he was the first one (and the only one) who apologized for that incident.

And even after so many years, I couldn’t forget what he did. It made an impression on me, a mark of a goodness a person can do.

As the years went by and I grew more mature, I realized that integrity is not just a simple matter of doing what is right and what is wrong.

Your integrity shapes who you are. That means you don’t have to ask yourself whether you’ll do what is right or wrong every time something comes up, you just do what you think is right… Because that’s who you are (or who you’re becoming).

Also, I learned that integrity is not a mushy softy feeling for the weak. It actually takes more strength than you know to do what is right, especially when no one is doing it.

And lastly, integrity gives you the power of self-confidence.

Why? Because you have nothing to hide. You’re confident in your every move, knowing that you aren’t doing anything wrong. Or at least, nothing that you are aware of.

The truth is, nobody is perfect.

Failing so many times is not a reason to stop improving yourself. To tell you honestly, I often regretted moments like the ones above where I failed to do what was right.

And it’s not like I would stop doing stupid things or mistakes now. But little by little, experience after experience, I improved.

And isn’t that what really matters?