Wednesday, September 21, 2011

The Right to Respect... Compete with Integrity

This right refers to our natural human drive
 to survive, progress, or perfect.
The contest is always on.

The question is,
does the contender have integrity?
Is the motive for the encounter, the collision,
the clash, the struggle, the attempt
pure and sincere?

In a world where power is so present,
I declare the Right to Compete with Integrity,
even as a potential avenue for world peace.
To compete with integrity is the choice
to engage in any contest of power
with principle and honesty .

This right is supported by the Right to Coexistence and the Right to Peace.

Mark Rothko painting Saffron (1957) is a visual representation
this right with the yellows competing yet coexisting.

In business, the Right to Compete with Integrity needs to be the business model.



Revision: thanks to commenter CTK.

61 comments:

Anonymous said...

"The first method for estimating the intelligence of a ruler is to look at the men he has around him."
- Niccolo' Machiavelli

I agree with the right to not compete, but power is the drive for everything in this world, even from the basic elements like electricity all the way to man. We all thrive and live by power and we all take advantage of it when given the opportunity. But the most important factor of power, the fuel that drives that power, are the people who encourage it and accept it.


Chuck F.

Anonymous said...

People live off the drive and the power without this many people would be nothing. Unfortunately this drive doesn’t make us always do the correct thing, but it is how we are made. I do believe in the right to not compete maybe if many followed this the world would be more passive and life would be completely different. We are responsible for our actions we may say we didn’t mean it but you do because you control it and it may be catastrophic. Yes to the right to not compete! Cd884

Anonymous said...

I do agree with the right not to compete for that will allow us to live a more calm and peaceful life the way it should be. And referring to the one's in power, I believe the tight to power should be given the right if they show true wisdom. The world does need people in power because not all of us have the courage to lead, but those leading should always exhibit good intentions. JE

Anonymous said...

Often, people are so concerned with competing and controlling a situation, that they lose sight of what they are actually trying to achieve. Competing against someone will never result in success. People coming together, agreeing, and collectively resolving an issue will result in progress and change for everyone. If people would practice the right not to compete the world would strive and become a more productive and peaceful place to live.
~TP~

Anonymous said...

So you ask is it really necessary to have power over someone? NO! In my opinion we should all be treated and respected equally which is why I agree with this blog no one person is better or wise than another. A good reason why we shouldn’t compete for power is because competing for power usually involves one or more of the following; battles, arguments, conflicts, or wars just to name a few. If we didn’t have completion over power this world would defiantly be much more peaceful then say now a days. So I also declare the right to not compete. _VA

Anonymous said...

I think the right to not compete is a nice idea and belief, but I do believe in it. I feel that for the world to progress and for things to change there must be someone or some country with the power. It is fine is a country or a person does not wish to compete for power but there will always be people that want that power and they will find some way of achieving it. I know this right does not refer to the natural drive we have, but to power to control others. But I believe that the two are one in the same, our natural drive is to compete and get ahead of others and eventually be in charge of others giving us power over them.

C.Munoz

Anonymous said...

The right to not compete is a great idea, but I believe that it will ultimately fail.I believe that every human being looks for the guidance of someone that is in a higher power. Therefore, it makes it impossible for there to be no competition of power. GIM

Anonymous said...

I agree with the Right to Not Compete. Power is driven from the very heart and soul of people. Instead, if Right to Not Compete was enacted people would naturally be more peaceful. Image what the world would be like if there was world peace. It would be heavenly. DS

Anonymous said...

The right to not compete is better said than done. We as human beings need to be powerful. It is like oxygen that we need for survival. Can you imagine if we live in a world with a right not to compete? What about if we do not have the power to control or command other human beings? This may lead to an increase in crime. Everyone may do as they like because there is no set control. Every country may want to produce nuclear weapons. When we compete for power, we work harder and make ourselves more intelligent, this leads to better technology by creating better products. So I would have to disagree with the right not to compete. Everyone uses this power, whether it is competing to be the best mother, student, teacher or leader. RR

Anonymous said...

We are forced to participate in these everyday expressions of power. To maintain authority over someone, to advance at our jobs, or simply to feel good about ourselves. It becomes an everyday occurrence. When we engage in these squabbles for power we lose our genuineness as a human being and we’re left with conflicting thoughts about who we really are. It’s the habitual poisoning of your own soul. With enough of this poison your ‘anima’ will be shaped out of greed and selfishness and you will not be your genuine self.

Are you genuine?
R.A.T.Jr.

Anonymous said...

The right to not compete it's a great idea. These days everyone wants power,not to do good things but to dominate. Most people want power to prove they are strong. Competing against someone doesn't lead to success most of the time. Your intelligence,value,will prove who you are. cjj

Anonymous said...

I support the Right to not compete. Power is dangerous weapon if it is in the wrong hands. I believe in the saying " Do on to others as you would like others to do on to you". At the end, it is not your aptitude but your attitude what will determine how far can you go.
Cyn.U

Anonymous said...

Many of us have been competing since we were young. Competition has been taught as power but also the gain of respect. Even in families there's always some sort of competition as to whose child is smarter, who has more money, whose wife is more beautiful, whose got the nicest car, etc... My question is; Does competing help someone strive for bigger and better things as well as receiving power and respect once the person has accomplished what they want? , I believe that because of these things that we are taught as children to "GO for the GOLD!", is why as adults is even harder to choose not to compete. Once we see good results due to our competitive way of being then we continue to want power and control. NOBRA

Anonymous said...

In a society that is all about power and hierarchy, it gets very difficult to resist this "competition". Everyone is looking to be "the man on top", or woman. It is embedded in our nature to compete. We live in a world where "Survival of the Fittest" is our motto. If people could look at this competition in a different aspect and see that it nothing but greed and egotistical behavior, we can all pull together for a better society and for peace.
-PCR.

Anonymous said...

This right contradicts itself. (in my opinion)
Yeah to much power can corrupt any group of people, but not to compete? We're competing at the moment saying "we wont" so we can somehow obtain one more step toward world peace. People are starting to agree with this right and side with it. So then they're competing with the ones who don't side with this right, to show they're trying to influence other people to go obtain the power to world peace. That's just how I see it now after reading everyone else post.

-YODA

Anonymous said...

I believe that there has to be competition in the world. We will never be able to reach perfection as humans therefore we can't say we will reach total peace. There has to be someone on top, in charge of everything and they have to compete in order to reach that level. Even though I agree in the need we have to treat others equally I also agree with the need of an authority over us. Not all competition is bad. AO

Anonymous said...

It is as simple as saying, “No. I will not compete”. Can you do it? Can humanity do it? Not competing as an avenue for world peace only works until a leader is needed. As soon as an individual or group is needed to lead, competition begins.
CTK

Anonymous said...

Since a child is born they are thought that the strongest, the best, the most outgoing gets rewarded. It has been a fight for power all along. The competition may be for a lollipop and you just have to be the toughest from your brothers when you get that vaccine, or eat all your vegetables faster than your sister in order to get that dessert. It's always been a competition. As we grow older, there is nothing but more competition, in school, at work, in life, everything is filled with competition in order to define the top competitors. Yes, there are certain people who abuse having power after earning it through everyday competition and take it levels too far and don't realize this until it is too late to stop, but I think there must be competition in life to be able to get to what you want before the chance is over.

-DBM

Anonymous said...

I agree with the Right to not compete,However it is impossible for the fact that most people compete with eachother on daily basis with simple things such as who is the smartest in class or who in kids who got the new cool pair of shoes.Certain people feel the need to compete and be better than everyone else. I believe that it is unhealthy in my opinion everyone should accept themselves do there best and be happy with the results they get from there hard work instead of feeling the need to always compete.JP

Anonymous said...

I agree with the right of non compete. Everyone should have their own standards and goals to live up to not to be better than the next guy, it makes people mean and bitter. I say instead of competing help others and learn from others. Better yourself for you not to prove anything to anyone.
SG

Anonymous said...

I wish the Right to Not Compete could be everyones way of thinking. Unfortunately, there will always be someone that is not pleased with everyone being equal. There will always be some power hungry person, that will take advantage of others,, or some sort of system that puts someone above you. The day that no one competes for power, then there will be world peace.
-LizR

Anonymous said...

The right to compete as posted seems contradictory. How can we have an innate desire for power, but choose to decline this power by not competing? How can you have power to control and command other beings without resistance from those beings? Don’t they have a right to contest my innate desire for power? It may be I don’t understand this right. All beings want power but some “choose” to decline this power. I don’t think this is a right to compete. It should be the right to give in. YYD

Anonymous said...

I have to say I cannot agree with the right to not compete. In order for any Country, Company, or a Family to run good someone has to have power and make decisions, create rules and enforce them otherwise as society we will spend our day searching for ways on how to survive because everyone will commit crimes if there is no one with power to implement consequences.In a business workers would not do their jobs and the company would go out of business.In a family it will end up in a tragedy. Also like other previous comment have mention since we are a child we are thought by our parent that we have to be the smarter and the best at what we do. By generations humans have that idea of competing in order to success in life and in my opinion such an idea will never change.
Y.A

GT said...

I greatly agree with this right. The idea of willingly putting aside our innate desire for power when it comes to reaching an agreement for global peace. For the world's Powers to give up their titles and think of solutions not only for the well being of their own citizens but citizens of the world. For presidents to renounce their seats and make decisions that affects all of us as a whole not their position. Sometimes when we act to compete we lose sight of the real meaning of things and start focusing more on us rather than having a broader view. Society pushes competition on us everyday it is our task to wisely select the things worth not competing for.

Anonymous said...

I personally think that there will never truly be world peace, there is always going to be someone with the urge and desire to control and obtain power by any means. world peace is terribly far away from reality, because no matter how hard someone tries to be nice and neutral towards each other, there is always going to be someone waiting in the shadows ready pounce on the weaker and less educated of our planet and use them to their advantage to compete for power and respect.-RBM

Anonymous said...

Although I think do think that there are positive outcomes that would come along with the Right to Not Compete, I also think that competing for power is inevitable and is not necessarily a terrible thing. In our world we need to have authority and leaders such as police officers and presidents which both strive for power to control others. This power can be used to better the people they lead and control or it can do the exact opposite.-KKP

Anonymous said...

This is a great right but just like it has been mentioned on previous post, it can be a dangerous right just for the simple fact that we as humans it have a naturally born thing for power. All we do in life is compete for power. The right not to compete it would be great if and only if every human and animal wouldn't have a naturally strive for power. Everything that surrounds us has to do with power and us competing for power. The world we live in is about power and who has the biggest guns. We all wish this could come true but in reality there can not be a right to not compete. CMP

Anonymous said...

The right to complete is every humans desire in some way. Power is used in society to control the people. Everyone always wants to be in control. For example the United States invades other countries governments. Why? All due to power to have control of every situation and calculate every move, we take as a nation. I believe as selfish as humans can me we are never satisfied. So at the end of the day we there's no right to complete. We always want more then we can't have.

Signed-SB

Anonymous said...

I truly support the right to not compete. In my opinion, power mainly comes from ambition and the desire to control, and I don't think that is a good thing. Power should only be given to those who are intelligent and have wisdom along with good intentions. With this right, there would be no hate in the world and we could all live in a peaceful environment. ME

Anonymous said...

In my opinion, even though someone may not believe with the right to compete, I believe it is a fact. What I mean is, it is kind of like "the strong survive" type of concept. If more and more people are competing then eventually one persons idea may be seen as more "liked" ( I guess you can say) than another persons causing that person to be forgotten. Thus, that person may feel inferior and come up with another idea that will outstand the person that demolished his idea. Whether it's for money purposes or impressing people, there will always be competition. I also believe that competition,in some cases, leads to evolution in technology, and beliefs.-NR

Anonymous said...

I believe the right to not compete is a possible right. People should be entitled to just blend in and go with the flow. Not everyone is driven to make a difference and excell in something. During these times many people are still in a free will state of mind they rather let nature take its course. In reality man is born with a choice so why not let man choose to either be great or blend in...mlv...

Anonymous said...

I feel half and half about the right to not compete. Although many won’t express it, in some way we all want power, and we all want to feel in control of something. But to have power you will have to compete, even the president of the united states and around the world have to compete to get the power they want. The power should be given to the one the shows more knowledge and who wants it more, although not competing with each other would make this world a happier and peaceful and non-violent place we all at some point feel we need to have power with something or someone and to compete against each other. But it should be done in a civil way with out causing any harm or violence, power should only be used for good not for evil. AFF

Anonymous said...

I disagree with the right to not compete. In my opinion, competition is healthy. It is what pushes us to succeed. We all want to be the best in our fields: the best doctors, the best teachers, or the best lawyers. In order to achieve this, we look at our peers and compete with them setting up higher standards for us in this process. I believe that without competition we will be living a mediocre life.
Torpedo179

Anonymous said...

You have the right to not compete. It is your choice if you want to compete
or not compete. I prefer to not compete for power, I rather do what I have
to do in order to accomplish my goals in life and live in peace and quiet. I
think it is not healthy to be obsessed with competing. GLT

Anonymous said...

I agree with Torpedo179. Competition is what drives us. In war, countries are essentially competing against one another; let's face it, most of the technological advances we benefit from come from this type of competition. In a perfect world integrity would be present in competition, but this world isn't perfect and often the easiest way to face an opponent is to go behind their back.

Nice guys finish last.

& All's fair in love and war, right?

Cbereng

P.S. I really liked that line I threw out there: "often the easiest way to face an opponent is to go behind their back", may I keep the rights to it? lol

Anonymous said...

I believe in the right to compete with integrity. Although in today's world, most people or companies do not compete with integrity. I am happy that I work for a company that believes in competing with integrity and has "0" tolerance for anything other than that. Some people will do anything to earn the 'win". I personally have a be fair and honest sense of business and operate for my company with a sense of integrity. RhW

Anonymous said...

I agree with the fact that as humans we should always compete with integrity since we are constantly competing and striving to be better than the other. Everyone wants power and control; some will get to where they want to be with lack of honesty and integrity. For example, simply being in your work place sitting at your desk, there will always be someone competing with you trying to take your place and be better then you. The way they do this may be out of bad intentions just to get a better spot or a promotion. “The contest is always on”, this being said I feel that we should all be competing with integrity so there wouldn’t be so much controversy within each other. Nowadays our government officials compete with lack of integrity. They tend to promise many things that catch our attention but in reality they know what they are promising is way out of hand and will never actually happen.ML

Anonymous said...

The right to compete with "Integrity"
Integrity is to have a firm adherance to a code of morality. Personally, everyone of us have an instictual drive in us to compete, because we need it in order to survive. However, sadly to say, there are a lot of people that achive goals competing without integrity, there are very few in the world that still hold a moral code.
KP

Anonymous said...

The right to compete with integrity should be established and pushed more than it is. Competition has always been a driving force, Darwin had focused his theories on his evolutionary theory. Survival of the fittest. Each bird had the same chance to stay alive, some had morphed in a way that adapted to their surroundings better than others.
The right to competition with integrity will always be of importance. Look at all the sports leagues that are always in the pursuit of fairness. How the Olympics are monitored. It then becomes about the persons drive to succeed and become the best.

AAA

Anonymous said...

In business, there are non-compete clauses that by their name would seem good, but by design limit competition and therefore are a form of competition themselves. Where does it end? There is no way to not compete. Even with peaceful resistance, it is a form of competition. CTK

Anonymous said...

I think that competition is not that bad, instead having someone powerful than us, gives us an inspiration, makes you want to excel, makes you to set goals, in other words, works as a role model. Instead competition when is used to the extremes can hurt people, even yourself. For example, they are people that they are always trying to be the best of everything they do, that they don’t enjoy the process and the achievement. I believe that competition is not that bad if you don’t hurt anybody. I consider myself a competitive person, especially with myself; I love to test my limits, but of course without stepping in anyone shoes.
*NG*

Anonymous said...

Human integrity and moral character is essential for coexistence. Integrity means: adherence to moral and ethical principles; soundness of moral character; honesty. The state of being whole, entire, or undiminished. A Person who competes for any position must have integrity. That person must be trustworthy, therefore that person must have integrity.
S.A.

Anonymous said...

Humans will always create and expand, it is in our instincts. The inner-ego we all have and the believe that one can create something better than what we already have or to create what no one has ever been able to create is a competitive nature we cannot lose. The day we lose the need to surpass one another is the day our human race sinks down in a horrific black hole of shame.
AG

Anonymous said...

I agree with the right to compete with integrity, I believe competition is something we need for survival, and that it has to do with natural selection .Only the strongest survive and reproduce.
CP

Anonymous said...

I believe in the right to compete with integrity for it's part of our human nature to climb and rise above any task. Any other form of competition that doesn't involve integrity which only aims for power with the wrong intentions would bring us things that are ungodly. We must compete to survive and we must also set the right examples for our young ones. The competition should be held only for the righteous. JE

Anonymous said...

The right to Compete is what drives everyone. Now, the right to Compete with Integrity is what makes everything and honest. To me there is nothing like a good competition in life, but when it's not a fair is went it makes it unfair. In life we are only as good as our word and are integrity is always with us.
Robert M. Pino

Anonymous said...

I agree with the Right to Compete with Integrity, unfortunately I think peoples motives clash with their intentions. I personally do not believe The Right to Compete with INTEGRITY can exist. As soon as the disagreements, arguing, and war begin, the integrity is lost. DH63

Anonymous said...

I completely agree with The Right to Compete with Integrity. I don’t think it would ever realistically exist in any part of this world. But in a perfect world the idea of competing honestly and knowing that all others are also competing honestly is wonderful idea. For instance, just knowing that our Presidential candidates would be telling the truth and not lies to get us to vote for them would be reassuring. JENS

Anonymous said...

In sports as in business, there is a code of ethics, a predefined form of acceptable behavior. Those who break that code are subject to sanction. But too often we as a society ignore a violation and sweep unacceptable behavior under the rug. By doing this, we deny the right to compete with integrity to those who believe in doing what is right as opposed to what is convenient to attain an end. VMR

Anonymous said...

In society, we have an inborn need for hierarchy. We need those that are in power to oversee those who are not. We crave that relationship that we grow so adjusted to in childhood in our adult life. The problem is that the power struggle often results in the "have's" and the "have-not's". This differential ultimately sacrifices the greater good for the benefit of those few at the top. JS

Anonymous said...

I think this right is very practical and it's better because of it. Since power struggles are inevitable, it's better to specify a way to do it without bringing either side down. I'm also very glad that this right is still considered a choice. I think the previous edit, The Right to Not Compete, is a very important right to define because it's so common to call someone who doesn't wish to compete lazy. Rights, above all else, should illuminate what a human can do without fear of rebuke.

--DenisA

Anonymous said...

I agree with the right to compete with integrity. I know that I am a competitive person, but I know how to control myself and tell when its time to call it quits. However, there are many people who just can't see themselves losing to anybody. It consumes them and sometimes makes them violent. People like that need to learn integrity.
M.D.L.

Anonymous said...

Integrity is not so common in modern times. The more we progress the harder it is for some people to keep up with the pace and competition so integrity has faded because the need to survive no matter the cost has took over as a norm in society. It is important to keep integrity because if we completely lose it then we will lose all trust and hope.
-Lz

TrustMeImADoctor said...

Integrity or honesty is certainly important in competition. Whats the point of winning at the cost of cheating. It may feel good at first but knowing that you had to cheat to achieve that goal is diminishing. In the business world people tend to be abused in terms of payment. Some people put in a hard day of work only to receive minimum wage. Some billion dollar companies such as Mc Donalds takes advantage of cheap labor to profit in full. They pay the least amount of money per hour and the managers are trained to use positive feedback to make the employees feel appreciated and worth full. This greed is a form of deception and is unfair.

LXC said...

Competition is everywhere. It is a part of our existence, and as our population continues to grow we will always have to compete with others for resources. Whether it is nations competing with one another for superiority, or two individuals competing with one another for the same job, we must keep our integrity. Cheating can perhaps get you the result you need, but is it worth it? An honor code needs to be set up in order for all of us to have the right to compete with integrity!

Anonymous said...

I disagree with this post. Not having the right to compete will get you no where in life in this century. Everyone thrives to have more power than others. We all have to compete no matter what age group we fall in. As students we compete to be the best student in class. So I say we compete because it always brings out the best of us.
H.I.V

Anonymous said...

Its hard to identify integrity when talking about power. While many chose to compete for power, some are often forced into competition for power. It is in our nature as humans to compete. What might seem as the right thing to one individual, may not coincide with another. Everyone has different norms and values and at the end will do what is in their best benefit. This is seen everyday in small examples like competing in the workplace or over mates. All the way to a larger scale like nations and international conflicts. In a perfect word, the right not to compete could lead to peaceful world. But this is not a perfect world and we all must compete to survive.

HZ

Anonymous said...

I think that those who make a habit of competing eventually become dishonest of their motives to compete. They become enthralled with the thought of never losing or finding a challenge.

-AJG

Anonymous said...

When in action, are you true to yourself? Let personal integrity be your guide. It is
the foundation laid by a humans supposed standards at the beginning. At the end of the
day, it is the truth of what one makes of it. It is a human being's moral compass. I
agree with the right to compete with integrity. However, you should compete with your
inner self to be a better person. How can the world say don’t compete when the United
States is the competitive country in the world? Everything is operated about whose
better who is stronger. People compete in the most vial ways to get ahead to prove them
self’s there’s no integrity. You compete to get the power to look down on others.
JD

Anonymous said...

* vial=vile

JD

muaath alheji said...

I personally agree with this right. This right says that we have to compete with integrity to achieve our goals and to prove that we are here on earth for a reason. Anyone who has power to do something that normal people can't do should use this power wisely. I believe all people should be productive and strive towards. M.A. ( Muaath Alheji )