Integrity

It’s Really All We Have

Bucky spent a great deal of time considering the question of integrity, both in his life and in the evolution of our species. In fact, the last thing he said publicly was in answer to a question about what, after all that he had accomplished, was most important in life. His answer was very simple, “personal integrity.” He urged those listening to hold on to their personal integrity no matter what the circumstances. The real question is how Bucky defined integrity.

His definition came from his love of mathematics, particularly the mathematics and structure (geometry) of Nature from which he created his Synergetic Math. I have often facilitated workshops in elementary schools to demonstrate Bucky’s structural math, and I always begin by asking one question, “What is integrity?”

Although the younger kids don’t have much of an idea, those in fourth and fifth grade usually talk about honesty, kindness and other noble traits. I agree that such things may be part of integrity for them before I give them Bucky’s simple geometric definition of integrity.

Bucky defined integrity as simply “holding your shape.” When we consider this minimal definition, we find that it can apply to almost anything. In fact, I have yet to find a situation where it does not apply.

It certainly fits with geometric structures. Any structure that has structural integrity holds its shape. For example, if a building or scaffolding did not have structural integrity, it would collapse. Unfortunately, what most people don’t understand is that most building and other manmade structures do not have true structural integrity because in a structure with true structural integrity tension and compression are evenly balanced. Most buildings, however, have the majority of the tension component buried deep in the ground with heavy foundations. Thus, when the Earth moves during an earthquake, the tension component of a building shifts often causing the building to shift or collapse. This is not true for the structure that Bucky invented, the geodesic dome.

We each have some idea as to who we are. That is our shape. It is a clear sense of self that we were born with. Usually the forces of society condition it out of us by the time we are young adults. School, parents, peers, advertising, media and other factors try to mold us into forms other than our true self, and we are generally helpless to defend ourselves from these outside influences.

Just like the earthquake topples the average building when it removes the tension factor of the building that is buried deep in the ground, outside factors can cause us to buckle and fall without the internal integrity we were born with. That’s why we must each strive to find and redevelop our personal integrity just as Bucky advised in his final public statement.

Without such a genuine personal commitment we will simply blow this way and that with the winds of cultural change. We won’t stand up to things that we know will destroy us such as global warming, ongoing wars around the planet, worldwide hunger, the unbridled use of fossil fuel and more personal issues such as abuse, worker exploitation and lack of adequate healthcare for everyone. All of these issue and more can be easily solved when we shift from a mindset of competition and war to one of cooperation and peace. And that mindset of cooperation and peace has become the one with the greatest integrity since 1976.

Prior to that year, war and competition had integrity because there were not enough resources to take care of everyone. In the 1930’s, however, Bucky began an intensive study of global resources and found that we were doing so much more with so much less resources that we would soon reach a point of being able to take care of everyone. He predicted that would occur in 1976, and researchers later proved that 1976 was the year that this became true for food. This is also true of other resources, and researchers are beginning to prove this fact.

With enough to go around, war and competition no longer have integrity. They are no longer viable or valid, and individuals need to “hold their shape” on this issue regardless of what the media and our “leaders” may tell us. They are operating on the old (and very successful) strategy of divide and conquer and to keep people conquered keep them divided. That is how we are now being “governed.” We are being misled and that lack of truth represents the outer forces that push against our internal integrity.

Often we can feel this correct stance, but we’re not sure what to do about it. The best thing is to be flexible, bend but don’t break. That’s what Bucky usually found himself having to do. He did not compromise his ethics, but he was willing to go with the flow of what was happening while always remembering to maintain his integrity, to hold his shape.

This is not some radical new philosophy. We have always been a tribal culture. Only in the last few decades have we become a global tribal culture as more and more of those in power have the ability to destroy us all. They also have the power to create that world that works for everyone.

Now, with the advent of easily accessible global communication and travel, the seat of power is shifting from the few to the many. What I am writing right now can be read and make a difference tomorrow in England or Cambodia. This is the true autonomous power that Bucky predicted would occur and make the world a better place for everyone.

We have always been interconnected, but there have not been enough resources to support everyone. Today, however, the connections are even stronger and the resources are available to support everyone. Thus, integrity is now more than just personal. It is, in fact, global. Everyone is entitled to an equal portion of the pie because there is plenty to go around. Bucky, scientists, economists and other scholars have proved this to be true.

Then the issue becomes how does each of us behave within this new paradigm? Most of us really have no idea. We have been raised in an environment of scarcity and this new context of abundance is foreign at best. We have few role models to follow. Fortunately, there have been people like Bucky who recognized the transformation that was occurring and lived as role models for future generations. The only question then is, are we willing to change our ways and follow in the footsteps of people like him?

Because they maintained their integrity in spite of circumstances, many such people became martyrs, saints or simply persecuted individuals. Bucking the system, they were often shunned, harassed or even killed. Now is the time to realize that there are a lot of us, and that the likelihood of such brutal treatment is rare. In fact, we may just be in the majority, so maintaining your personal integrity might just be much easier than any of us realize.

As I said, Bucky provided one clear role model for us. He demonstrated and documented what the “little individual” can accomplish that cannot be achieved by any business, institution, religion or other organization no matter how large or powerful. And he did this while holding his shape – maintaining his individual integrity. This was now an easy task for him, but in persevering he blazed a pathway that anyone who chooses can follow. I have found it to be a satisfying way to live life, and I suggest that each of us at least attempt following some of the actions that reflect our individual integrity.