When my sister was little, a boy threw a large rock and hit her in the head on purpose. About eight other kids witnessed this, but were unable to stop him in time. My sister was fortunate that even at four her mounds of curly hair acted as a large cushion to the blow. She started wailing and the boy ran away.
My sister was okay... sporting a massive bump. We were all relieved and very angry. As one, the group of us told the adults what had happened. We were all questioned and the story remained the same, as it was the truth.
The parents of this boy were informed. They denied the whole thing much to the dismay of the rest of us. This boy never apologized.
I was eight at the time and learned a lot. When our parents thought we weren’t listening, other facts of this family’s code of misconduct came to the surface. It turns out the apple didn’t fall far from the tree.
The funny thing about this whole experience was that justice was served in a round about way. None of us kids wanted a thing to do with this brat. We were all polite when he was around, but none of us trusted him or laughed with him. He had blown it with us. The rest of the group bonded from this experience. We did not lie, cheat or otherwise deceive...we simply told the truth. We were united by the truth.
The funny thing about liars is that the truth eventually seeps out and when it does, they end up distancing themselves from one another like rats on a sinking ship This aquatic centre referendum has had some similarities. The volunteers who comprise the committee have been bound by the facts and mandated by the government to follow regulated procedure. None of them have lied or deceived in their efforts to inform and educate. There have been those against who have done exactly that. I have personally talked to people who signed the petition thinking they were signing in favour of the pool. Granted, they should have read what they signed better, but the bottom line is they were lied to. Now there was a propaganda sheet blitzed out in to the community.
When any group is attacked with vicious nature, they grow stronger. They know that in the end, they are playing fairly, with dignity and integrity. Integrity goes by the wayside when lying becomes more important than the truth.
I watched “Jacqueline Kennedy: In her Words” the other evening on TV. I strongly believe part of why she became such an icon to the world was because of her honesty, dignity and integrity. She told the truth and was sincere in her beliefs. It wasn’t just her outer beauty that wooed the world. It was also her inner beauty. I would rather die knowing that I did right than that I won...because in the end the winner is always the one who puts integrity first.