"Integrity is not integrity unless at times it forces you to stand up against what everybody else is saying. If you always, end up just by coincidence, doing the popular thing, that is a pretty clear sign you lack integrity. Integrity requires you to risk something. You have to have something at stake, something you can lose. You can't live a life of integrity unless you are willing to stand up and say "I know all of my friends believe this, " or "My society believes this, but I believe something entirely different and here it is. Take your best. Shot. "Its much easier to sit back. Its exhausting to stand up when people criticize you and when you are viewed as odd. But that's precisely when integrity is tested." -Stephen Carter
