Identity Values

Identity values define how we see ourselves; both individually and, especially, collectively.

Key identity based values put forward within Poprimus are outlined below: Candour, Courage, Integrity, Reason.

Candour

Meaning (source always Oxford Languages, unless otherwise stated)

the quality of being open and honest; frankness.

Why it matters

Openness and honesty lie at the very heart of trust. If you know or suspect you are being lied to, told less than the full, unfiltered truth or that something pertinent is being withheld you will have real problems being able to trust anything further from the person, group or organisation giving you data / messages / information.

The basis for any ongoing relationship to be workable is the trust by all parties in all of the others involved. Without healthy working relationships there can be no orderly society; ergo openness and honesty are pillar stones of civilisation.

It is for the reasons above, as obvious as they are, that candour must be at the very heart of one’s identity, one’s being. It should be a fundamental aim for all individuals in order to maintain healthy inter-personal relationships. For organisations, and especially government and public services (GPS), it should be enshrined in law and offenders subject to criminal prosecution and harsh sentences for those found guilty. The integrity of GPS across society, as well as law and order, are at stake from dishonesty and dis-information; and are far more dangerous when carried out by organs of state than by indivduals or groups. That it is our politicians, political organisations and public sector institutions who have perpetrated state against citizen falsification for decades completely unchecked illustrates nothing so much as how far we have fallen as a just and fair society.

Practical implications / implementation

The importance of candour from an individual, personal perspective should be taught to children from a very young age and through to adulthood. Primary responsibility must reside with parents but it must be reinforced as a core part of schooling. Behaviour that is anything but open and honest should be subject to sanction (and punishment, by law, for significant breaches that impact upon order and the measurable welfare of others) in both childhood and adult life.

Any and all government or public services workers (GPSW) have a responsibility to be entirely open and honest in all dealings with the public and other organisations / groups.

Any withholding of information, manipulation or misrepresentation of information would be deemed as unlawful . Criminal prosecutions of both individuals and responsible function heads should be mandatory wherever there is a case to answer.
Information provided by GPS must be clearly and distinctly identified as fact, forecast, assumption or opinion; and freely available and attributed sources presented in all cases.
All GPSW should be required to fully identify themselves by both name and unique employee ID in any and all dealings with all customers.
Transcripts must be supplied in full by any and all GPS functions of all face to face or verbal communications between GPS and the public or groups / businesses.
ALL GPS functions must publish full detailed and audited accounts in one nationally agreed format at both half and full fiscal year end.
All items of capital expenditure in excess of £1m to be listed inidvidually as well as in total for related project / program expenditure.
All expenses attributable to the use of human resources, whether in-house, sub-contracted, outsourced or consulting based should be reported in detail by expense classification, and both the monetary cost and the headcount ( or FTE) utilisised, to encompass all inidividual jobs / positions involved.
All aspects of financial revenue and expenditure, as well as balance sheet assets and liabilities should be budgeted on a monthly basis for the approaching twelve month fiscal period. Said budgets at all levels of GPS should be published in detail in advance and be put to the electorate for either approval or rejection. Overspend against budget, at either line item or overall level should be made illegal and GPS officers be subject to criminal charges for unauthorised expenditure, for both operating and capital budgeted items.
Excepting only those items that are wholly and undeniably undertaken on the grounds of national security from external threat (s) as defined in a formal constitution, all budgeted and actual incurred activities of government and all related public services should be executed under a 100% open book policy, with transcripts and decisions taken by any and all GPS functions available in the public domain within 28 days.
Freedom of Information legislation should be replaced such that information is available, digitally, free of charge. Refusal of, or hinderance to access to information should be a criminal offense with individual GPS workers accountable as well as organisations.

Courage

Meaning (source always Oxford Languages, unless otherwise stated)

the ability to do something that frightens one; bravery.

Why it matters

Courage is most readily understood as the having the ability to do something that is at the very least uncomfortable or challenging, but often much more frightening and potentially dangerous, either physically or by way of impacting one’s circumstances and stability. Courage involves facing up to and confronting uncertainty and the fear that engenders: stepping out of one’s personal comfort zone and dealing with something new and, to lesser or greater degrees, unknown.

Courage is not something simply reserved for warrior – type heroes. The highest forms of courage can often appear mundane and very down at heel. Two of the best examples of everyday, and essential, courage are simply asking the question “Why?” instead of accepting what one is told by someone in authority; and secondly, the act of accepting that you have done something wrong, or made a mistake, and apologising publicly for that. Without questioning the status quo nothing can ever change. Developments in science, medicine, engineering and a host of other fundamental fields would have been impossible without both questioning, and the acceptance of the rights and advantages of questioning by governing authorities.

Courage, then, is a fundamental driver behind all change and progress and therein lies the critical need to encourage and nurture the concept in all areas of society.

Courage must also be understood and encouraged within the broader set of values adopted by a society. Courage may well entail some measure of sacrifice on the part of the person(s) displaying it. It may benefit broader society and the greater good at a cost to either indivduals or smaller groups. Those within broader society need also to be schooled in the selflessness of courage in order that they properly recognise the act and the efforts required and consequences taken on board by those displaying it.

Practical implications / implementation

Courage must be explained, in detail and in terms of it’s importance within the context of other core values. It must encouraged at home, at school and throughout adulthood, in both society and the workplace.

It is vital that courage is always recognised and rewarded, and that those that would seek to stifle courageous acts to protect themselves or their particular interests are made fully aware of the sanctions and punishment that they will face.

Constructive questioning, comment or criticism must be both allowed and encouraged from all within all organisations and institutions. All organisations will be responsible for putting in place reporting mechanisms to allow free expression of complaints, concerns and areas of potential improvement.
Disciplinary action or other punishment upon individuals questioning or reporting concerns should be made a criminal offence.
Any attempt by any organisation, excepting on grounds of national security risk by an external threat, to prohibit or curtail reporting of concerns / issues / inefficiencies should be made a criminal offence.
A National Crime Reporting Reward system should be implemented whereby anyone that can provide substantive evidence or information of specific criminal activity ( hearsay will not be accepted or acceptable, and mailicious false reportiing should be a crime in itself) that leads to successful prosecution of offenders will be provided with pre-published standard and significant financial reward.

Integrity

Meaning (source always Oxford Languages, unless otherwise stated)

the quality of being honest and having strong moral principles that you refuse to change

Why it matters

Simple definitions don’t expressly convey it but the overarching qualities associated with integrity are trustworthiness and reliability. As well as being honest and principled a person of integrity will do exactly what they have committed to do, come what may. Focus will be entirely upon achieving the goals set out, and not on arse covering to protect themselves in the event of failure. Above all else a person of integrity can be relied upon. to deliver what is required.

Integrity matters for the same reason as candour in that it lies at the very heart of trust. Integrity goes beyond simply being open and honest however: it is a measure of trustworthiness in terms of ability to deliver and for that reason is absolutely crucial to true leadership. Almost entirely lacking among politicians and the vast majority of public service workers ( the one notable exception for decades have been the Armed Forces) leadership matters hugely and lies behind development and growth of any worthwhile enterprise or organisation. The genuine lack of it (“more scarce than hen’s teeth” springs to mind) has been a major reason behind the wholesale economic and societal decline of the west. Politicians of all persuasion across the west have evolved into principle free, poll chasing shucksters rather than people of principles and integrity. Had we had leaders of genuine competence and integrity over the past 50 years the disastrous shift to the unhinged and discredited left might well have been averted.

The rebuilding of integrity, first and foremost withiin our institutions, is the greatest challenge facing all western democratic governments. Major swathes of the electorate, the population, have simply switched off because they trust none of the political parties in place and have no belief in anything that is offered. The electorate understand the reality of our democracies far more than so called experts and pundits. Very few voters actually believe the “Trust Me” bullshit that is the essence of all party offerings before they then take power and blame their predecessors for a “far worse state ( black hole appears at this point) than was envisaged” which means they will not be able to do as they originally declared.

Practical implications / implementation

Reason

Meaning (source always Oxford Languages, unless otherwise stated)

1. a cause, explanation, or justification for an action or event

2. the power of the mind to think, understand, and form judgements logically.

Wikipedia gives a more expansive, and hence useful (albeit still incomplete), explanation:

“Reason is the capacity of consciously applying logic by drawing valid conclusions from new or existing information, with the aim of seeking the truth.”

Why it matters

The relentless and tireless accumulation, over millenia, of information based on demonstrable, repeatable tests and fact based evidence has led us to a point where our understanding and knowledge of much about our world and the universe exceeds even the wildest imaginings of most of us alive for more than the past 60 years. Huge advances in science, medicine,

Practical implications / implementation

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