Growing up, Bill Cosby inspired me to become a stand-up comedian. Ultimately, I elected not to follow his example in comedy and, thankfully, some of the other aspects of his life. But I still remember listening to his bit about the conversation between God and Noah and God’s instructions to build the ark. At one point in the instructions, Noah responds to God by saying, “Who is this really?” Sadly, in today’s society, I have had to often ask that same question.
Last May, a federal grand jury indicted newly elected Representative George Santos from New York on 13 felony counts. These include allegations of unlawfully spending donations he received for his political campaign on personal expenses, such as designer clothes, a car payment, and credit card debt. The grand jury also charged him with fraudulently applying for and receiving unemployment benefits during the pandemic. He is also accused of making false statements in two financial disclosures to the House of Representatives.
But the indictment was only the proverbial tip of the iceberg when it comes to Santos’s deceit. Wikipedia sums it up this way:
“Santos has made numerous false or dubious claims about his biography, work history, criminal record, financial status, ethnicity, religion, and other matters, both in public and in private. Six weeks after his election, numerous news outlets reported that large parts of his self-published biography appeared to be fabricated, including claims about his ancestry, education, employment, charity work, property ownership, and crimes of which he claimed to be a victim. Santos has admitted to lying about his education and employment.”
In one recent poll, 59 percent of New York voters in Santos’s district want him to resign. My question is, what’s the deal with the other 41 percent? Don’t we want our political leaders to be persons of integrity? Don’t we want them to have character? Football star J.C. Watts once said, “Character is doing the right thing when nobody’s looking. There are too many people who think that the only thing that’s right is to get by, and the only thing that’s wrong is to get caught.” Or, as Samaira Ansari said, “One lie is enough to question all the truth.”
Deceit can come in many forms; it does not require an outright lie. Sometimes, even implying the wrong idea can show a lack of integrity. Just this week, Texas Senator John Cornyn retweeted an article about over $3 billion flowing into Texas due to the 2021 bipartisan infrastructure law. At first blush, it appears the Senator is crowing about how he helped Texas receive this economic boon. There is only one problem, though. Cornyn voted against the bill. When accused of hypocrisy for touting a law he didn’t support, Cornyn admitted he voted against it. His aides responded to the accusations of hypocrisy by stating that his postings on social media are often simply intended to provoke thought and discussion. But I, for one, am not totally buying it.
This past month I watched two entertaining movies. Watch them for their entertainment, but don’t necessarily follow the examples of their characters.
Here is the opening scene from the film Sharper[i](now streaming on Apple TV+):
After watching this scene, you might think you have stumbled onto a fun romantic comedy. But you would be wrong. None of the characters are who they appear to be, as they each try to out-scam the others. And all of them are adept at it. I admit I loved the movie, but it left me with a nagging question: could you ever trust any of these characters ever again? Strong relationships are built on mutual trust and respect. Those would be hard to develop under the circumstances of the film. I am reminded of these wise words from a wise person, Albert Einstein: “Whoever is careless with the truth in small matters cannot be trusted with important matters.”
Flamin’ Hot[ii] (now streaming on Disney+ and Hulu) is the supposed true story of how Frito Lay developed its ultra-spicy Cheetos. It is a fun rags-to-riches tale. Here is the trailer for the film:
The only problem is that it might not be fact-based, as the movie claims. Even before the movie was released, The LA Times investigated the claims of Richard Montañez, the central figure in the film, who claims Flamin’ Hot Cheetos were his creation. Here is a news report on the LA Times’ investigation:
Perhaps Richard Montañez has told his allegedly true story so often that he now believes it himself. Regardless, he has profited immensely from it. But I stand with Michelle Obama when she said: “We learned about honesty and integrity – that the truth matters… that you don’t take shortcuts or play by your own set of rules… and success doesn’t count unless you earn it fair and square.”
Living with integrity means doing what should be done at the time it should be done, whether we like it or not. But how do we determine who we are and start living that way? Said another way, how do we develop a strong sense of self? First, we should determine what our values are. Too often, we allow our family, friends, church, political party, or social media to tell us who we are or what we value. But what do YOU value? Values are not goals; they are not a destination, but they can provide us with direction and motivation to reach a goal or destination.
Author Kendra Cherry suggests these things to help us determine who we are:
- Get to know yourself better by determining your interests, likes, and dislikes.
- Figure out what’s important to you, including your beliefs, values, and goals.
- Take time for yourself to learn more about who you are without outside pressure and influence.
- Try new things. You might not enjoy everything, but each can be a learning experience.
- Learn to trust yourself.
- Build greater self-awareness by practicing mindfulness.
Once we determine who we are and what we value, we need to live our lives accordingly. M.H. McKee said it this way: “Wisdom is knowing the right path to take. Integrity is taking it.” May we all have such wisdom, and the courage to live with integrity.
[i] Sharper:
- Production Companies: A24, Apple TV+, and Picturestart
- Director: Benjamin Caron,
- Screenwriters: Brian Gatewood and Alessandro Tanaka
- Starring: Julianne Moore, Sebastian Stan, and Justice Smith
- Release Date: February 17, 2023
[ii] Flamin’ Hot:
- Production Companies: Franklin Entertainment and Searchlight Pictures
- Director: Eva Longoria
- Screenwriters: Lewis Colick, Linda Yvette Chávez, and Richard Montañez
- Starring: Jesse Garcia, Annie Gonzalez, and Emilio Rivera
- Release Date: June 9, 2023
Life Lessons Through Film 