Men of Integrity - Essay Example

?Irshad Ahmad Order # 737021 Academia-Research.Com October 24, Men Of Integrity In the Constitutional, ethical and political development of theUnited States of America, the lives, ideas, theories and works of three personalities have the basic and preliminary role. These personalities are Thomas Jefferson, Frederick Douglas and Martin King Luther. All of them were designed according to the Stephen L. Carter’s definition and explanation of the word ‘Integrity’. The United States of America has thus strictly been following the ideals its founding fathers have shown to it. These are the ideals of Integrity thoroughly highlighted by Stephen L. Carter in his The Rules About The Rules. According to Carter, a person’s individual life does not bear the importance howsoever healthy, peaceful and happy it is. ‘Integrity’ demands to influence the lives of others by bringing them under the attributes of ‘right’. This is the principle which guides the United States of America in its hazardous efforts to bring tranquility and peace in the world. It means what it has been following since its very birth are the lights of ‘Integrity’. Thomas Jefferson, in his “Declaration of Independence” has worded that all men are created equal (p 13). I disagree because the equality as stated by Jefferson does not extend to all men. Some are superiors in terms of qualities, the others inferior. But this is not what Jefferson wants to communicate; he has his own philosophy of the statement having a certain background. What he wants to convey is that all men are created equal in terms of the rights of freedom, joy and aspiration for happiness. He complains against the ruthless approach of the British Government towards the inhabitants of the American Colony. He demands for the due rights all the humans deserve in common. Jefferson here satisfies the first condition of Carter’s explanation of the word “Integrity” (p 6). He has predicted something wrong in the British attitude through thorough analysis and understanding of the situation. He satisfies the second condition as well as he lets the world know what is going on over that part of the earth. And the third part, whether he fought for the cause, i.e. to stop the injustices by any means? Surely he has done it with the resources available to him at that time. It means Jefferson is a man of Integrity by the definition of Carter. Jefferson satisfies me because he has grasped something wrong, figured it out loudly before the community and also fought for its stoppage. Jefferson is therefore a man of integrity to me as well. Apart from Thomas Jefferson, the United States of America feels proud of having the services of two other great names in its history; Thomas Jefferson known for his Declaration Of Independence and Martin Luther King for his Letter From Birmingham Jail. Both the documents bear extreme importance in the history of United States of America and England. Both voice the injustices of the Britain government. Both are similar in nature complaining against the cruel policies of the British government towards the minorities. Both claim that they deserve the right to raise voice against the brutalities of the government. Here, there is a call for justice. For instance Jefferson cries out against the King of Britain to have obstructed the administration of justice by denying the Judiciary its powers (p 14) whereas Martin Luther King weeps over the fact that the orders of the Judiciary are not being obeyed in England as in the decision of Supreme Court in 1954 (p 167). If Jefferson terms the King guilty of ordering the officers for the harassment of their men (p 14), Martin Luther views the attitude of the Police towards the Negroes as brutal (p 172). The Declaration Of Independence tells that the people of America were deprived of their basic civil and social rights like carrying out trade with other nations of the world. Besides, the King looted their wealth over sea, coasts and towns and imposed unjust taxes on them (Jefferson, p 14). Letter From Birmingham Jail narrates the same story as it tells that the Negroes have been denied their civil and social rights. Negroes are not allowed to get to the public places reserved for the whites, attend their schools and much more (King, p 173). Thomas Jefferson agitates against the King for waging war against America despite the fact that the people of America were King’s subjects (p 14). On the other hand, Martin Luther King speaks of the partial policy of the Britain towards Negroes. He tells how the women, children, olds and young of Negroes are dragged as if they are the captives of the war (p 175). Thomas Jefferson mourns over the fact that before announcing independence, they approached every possible door to knock at for the amicable solution of the issue but they were kicked out of (pp14,15). In a more similar way, Martin Luther King refers to the utmost efforts he made in order to settle the issue through negotiations but no success did he find (p 165). At last, Thomas Jefferson appeals the British people to pressurize their government in the purpose but, like their government, they remained deaf and dumb (p 15). The tone sounds the same when Martin King Luther tells that different British Communities like Economic and Church were approached and all went in vain (p 165). The efforts of Martin Luther King for establishing a just society need no arguments. He was an ideal man befitting Carter’s definition of a “man of integrity”. Carter told of a ‘man of integrity’ as “a person we feel we can trust to do right, to play by the rules, to keep commitments” (p 7). Martin Luther King did this all. He perceived the segregation in British society as wrong. He announced before the whole of British that he was going to change the ruthless policy of the government. He made every effort for the settlement of the issue through dialogues and negotiations. He decided to fight when his cup of endurance had saturated. He provided a proof that he did all at his own cost by going to jail and at last losing his life. To me he stands as a real man of integrity because he distinguished the wrong, worded his efforts and at last organized a huge assembly of people ending in his imprisonment. Frederick Douglas was invited to deliver a speech at the Birth-Day Anniversary of the great American nation. At the time the United States of America was in a state of discontent because of the indifferences paid to the African Americans in other words, the Negroes. They were continuously being exploited and their due rights of liberty, freedom and joys were denied of them. The situation resembled the times when the Kingship of England inflicted injuries on the body and soul of the American nation, i.e. pre-independence period. Douglass was disappointed over the fact that the American nation had lost its ideals which were to achieve the heights of glory among the nations of the world. The situation if persisted for long could strike the nation’s character at its very roots and the recovery would have been impossible. In the Declaration of Independence, it was declared that all the men were created equal (Jefferson, p 493). Same is the principle Douglas wanted to convey through his speech. Douglas was a prisoner in the primary stages of his life. This is the reason that he could feel the pain of a slave, of an oppressed and of a tortured more than others and his words became bullets that were to strike at the hearts of the listeners and readers. He mourns over the fate of the Negroes in that part of the world where they are treated badly (p 504). Douglas alludes to the part of the “Declaration” wherein it is stated that Almighty has gifted every human with some alienable rights which are the life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. If these rights are denied of him, then they hold the right to come into action as to avail them (Jefferson, p493). Douglas urges that slaves are men like others. Men are created equal and that slavery is not divine (p505-6). Douglas wants to persuade his nation-whites not to let the situation go the point of no return. There will then be no welfare of anyone but the destruction. This idea of Douglas is clear when he threatens of ‘fire’ instead of ‘light’ (p 506). Thus the allusions Douglas made in his speech were the attempts for arriving at a certain amicable solution of the issue of the Negroes’ exploitation. Douglas convinces of his words in a divine way when he speaks of God, Bible and the Constitution. He states that any unbiased and unprejudiced will surely confirms his sayings as true. He goes to the extent of saying that with so much credited references, still if a person does not believe would surely be a devil (p 506). The most convincing areas of his speech are those where he provides proofs of the cruelties done to the Negroes. For instance, they are robbed of their liberty, beaten with sticks, hunt with dogs, sold at auction, their teeth knocked out and at Virginia, punishment for Negros is death-penalty if they committed either of the seventy two listed crimes while for the whites, the listed crimes are only two (pp 505, 506). What is most convincing is the lesson of history that every tyranny has its end and this is what Douglas wanted to teach. In order to make the audience and the dominant faction of the populace of the United States of America, i.e. whites of whom he was a part, comprehend the severity of the situation, he made them feel that he was a part of the Negroes and like Negroes, this day of Independence meant nothing for him. As he had tasted the slavery before, he portrayed before them a dreadful picture of the miseries of the slave Negroes. He warns them that the system will be lit to fire if the grievances are not redressed (p 506). As Carter has defined the word Integrity, Frederick Douglas satisfies all the requirements as a ‘man of integrity’. He guessed the injustices towards the Negroes as wrong and then presented his views before the strong dominant community which was indeed a courageous step. He threatened them of the harsh consequences of the policy if continued even going to the extent of destroying the whole system. According to my definitions, he stands brilliant as a ‘man of integrity’. He showed the courage in the most formidable circumstances without caring for his life. He used the most excellent tone for his expressions and to persuade the community of his understanding of the situation, he proved himself to be a genius. Thomas Jefferson, Douglas and Martin King Luther here come out as the ‘men of integrity’. Going through the whole of their lives, we get the conclusion amply clear that they were the men of principles, high values and attributes who fought for justice. They were researchers and the best social analysts of the times. “Integrity” implies to the same characteristic. It is the quality found in straightforward men with high genius and intellect. They must be a composite whole. Every positive characteristic flows out from ‘Integrity’. In other words it is the fountain of all the virtues. In the establishment of the overall policy roadmap of the United States of America of all times, the ideas and thoughts of the three men as mentioned have the most important role. That is to say, the men were the ‘men of integrity’ and the country which seeks guidance in their words and works comes out to be the ‘country of integrity’. This is the reason that United States of America has the brains in its policy-makers which have the ability to perceive and in fact foresee a certain ‘wrong’ in a certain part of the world. As according to the Carter’s definition of ‘Integrity’ and following the guidelines of its ‘men of integrity’, the United States of America strives for the elimination of the ‘wrong’ through dialogues, conferences, meditations and negotiations. The ultimate option to strike at the root of the ‘wrong’ thus remains the use of force which the States never hesitates to use and the ‘wrong’ is thus brought to an end. Works Cited Carter, Stephen L. Integrity. New York: BasicBooks, 1996. Print. Jefferson, Thomas, and Sam Fink. The Declaration of Independence. New York: Scholastic Reference, 2002. Print. King, Martin L. Letter from Birmingham Jail. Stamford, Connecticut: The Overbrook Press, 1968. Print. Douglass, Frederick. What to the Slave Is the 4th of July?: Rochester, New York, July 5, 1852. Pa.?: Historical Documents Co, 1994. Print. Read More