I had a friend ask me the other day as we were talking about one of the
papers I had written in which I had mentioned core character traits that were
important to me. My friend thought these
were so closely related as to be redundant or at best unclear in the sense of being
different. These core traits were being
ethical (in behavior and thought) and being trustworthy. Not wanting to get into a discussion of what
Webster defines these I attempted to explain how I view them and I invite my
readers to sound off as well.
Simply put, you cannot have one without the other. You also need to include integrity.
The differences between being ethical and trustworthy are not just
semantics. Ethical behavior in my mind
is doing the right thing in a moral and cultural context with morality having
the upper hand. Trustworthy on the on
the other hand is linked to ethics in that an individual can be relied upon to
do what he/she says they are going to do and that the actions fit in with the
moral guidelines of society and culture.
Of course, an individual can be trusted to do bad things but he is not “trustworthy.” Trustworthy in my opinion is a trait that an
individual exhibits when he/she will safeguard my confidences, protect communal
and personal property and put the interests of others before his/her own
interests.
This can get deep into philosophy, which I have done on many
occasions. This also reminds me of a
quote from an early mentor (Dan Rivera, 1979):
“The true measure of a man’s character is defined by what he will do when
he knows he will not be held accountable for his actions.” This quote, which I have lived with for over
thirty years and more embodies ethics, trust, and integrity. You cannot have one without the other two.
