We face choices daily—as individuals and communities. Both consciously and instinctively, there are things we believe and care about in these choices. Integrity happens when our commitments and actions match. When this happens, we feel good. When it doesn’t, we feel pain. Pursuing integrity as life unfolds requires being able to understand the world, analyze what should matter and make choices that match: skills of critical thinking. As limited, fallible creatures, effective critical thinking requires the ability to collaborate: skills of pluralism. The path to integrity, to peace and happiness, for us and our children alike, requires building these skills.
Bashir is an Ethicist by profession and leads the departments of Ethics Services and Diversity Services at Fraser Health, one of Canada’s largest and fastest growing health authorities. He is keenly interested in serving the various inter-related communities he belongs to (and that we are all members of) to live better, more peaceful and just lives. He believes this can happen through careful attention to the choices we make, from how we choose to be with ourselves and each other.