Integrity

The Conscience of Office

You took the job because you believed you could do good. Perhaps it was government service. Perhaps corporate leadership. Perhaps nonprofit work. The sector matters less than the premise: you thought you could exercise power responsibly.

Now you are being asked to do something that violates your conscience.

Not a catastrophic moral failure. Something smaller. A compromise. A necessary evil, they tell you. The cost of getting things done.

You are trying to decide whether to comply or resign.

The Oath and the Office

I would like to begin with a document that every officeholder in a democracy has signed and very few have read carefully: the oath of office.

The oath – in its various national formulations – commits the officeholder to serve the public interest, uphold the law, and discharge their duties with integrity. It does not mention party loyalty. It does not mention donor obligations. It does not mention reelection strategy. It does not mention the expedient thing, the popular thing, or the thing most likely to generate a favorable news cycle.