Consistency

"A king may move a man, a father may claim a son. But remember that, even when those who move you be kings or men of power, your soul is in your keeping alone. When you stand before God you cannot say 'but I was told by others to do thus' or that 'virtue was not convenient at the time.' This will not suffice. Remember that."
--King Baldwin IV (Kingdom of Heaven)

One personal quality that I value highly is consistency. By this I do not mean how often an individual eats the same food for lunch or goes to bed at the same time each night. I am referring to how unswerving an individual's thoughts and actions are in matters of principle.

Self reflection over the past few years has revealed many personal inconsistencies that I've had to come to grips with, such as:

-->Belief in liberty while conducting or condoning actions that compromise freedom in the name of security

-->Belief in uniqueness of individual while seeking to conform to social norms--and downgrading people who don't act like me

-->Belief in property rights while voting to forcibly take property from others thru taxes and other avenues

-->Belief in peace while condoning coercive actions of the State

Identifying these gaps can difficult because of human tendency for selective reasoning. We pick and choose evidence that fits our view of the world, and discard data that might reveal that we are behaving inconsistently with closely held beliefs--perhaps in order to conveniently satisfy another interest.

To me, however, the reflection process is well worth it. To be sure, recognizing these inconsistencies often stings, but the upshot is that I've become more honest with myself. Plus, in circular fashion, identifying inconsistent behavior has led me to more deeply question what I hold to be true.

To the extent that others might be trying to learn from me thru observation (I've come to realize that you never know who might be watching), then consistent behavior in matters of principle is likely to strengthen vicarious learning processes that might be taking place.

Because the human condition is diverse, it is likely that others do not value consistency as highly as I do. As such, one of my greatest challenges going forward is to stay focused on improving my internal consistency while resisting the urge to impose similar value judgements on others.