Poll: Rich/Average Sellout/Integrity What would you rather be?

[TheRealJLars]

I'm facing this exact moral dilemma right now, and I'm choosing money.

As someone who is extremely passionate about music, it comes down to "Do I choose to do something I may love with low pay and questionable security for the rest of my life, or do I choose something I may not hate that's going to be able to provide life-long financial security for myself and my family?"

Because at the end of the day, providing firm financial ground for my eventual family is a thousand times more important to me than music is, ever has been, and ever will be. I don't consider wanting my children to grow up in as good a situation as I did to be selling out, even if I'm giving up one of my greatest passions to do so.

Maybe I'm old-fashioned or whatever, but to me it's a no-brainer.

 

[Suicidejim]

What am I doing to become a sellout? Are we on the level of, say, writing some music for a more mainstream audience, or letting it be used in a commercial for a company whose products/practices I don't agree with, or even further along, letting it be the new national anthem for a country that has declared war with my own? I know the last one's improbable, I'm just trying to make my point here.

If 'average' means I have enough to survive and live reasonably comfortably (i.e. money is never an issue for bills and such, as long as I don't go buying a new car every month or other needless extravagances), then I would choose average. No less than that though. Integrity may be a wonderful thing, but it doesn't make very good shelter, nor is it a good substitute for food.

 

[Rowan93]

The whole point of being rich is to stop pretending you have integrity. So it's a no-brainer.

 

[Monkeyman O'Brien]

Rich. Not even a hard choice in the slightest.
I don't care what anyone else thinks of me and if I were rich I would not have to. I would rather spend my life doing shit I enjoy and have people dislike me rather than waste my life slaving away making someone else rich and the only reward is having people like me a little more.

 

[Elementary - Dear Watson]

Here's a fun hypathetical.

Would you rather be a rich sellout?

Or a average person with integrity?

Why?


PS: Yes there is a deeper meaning here.

You know what I consider selling out?
Working 40+ hours a week, doing things you hate doing, surrounded by people you dislike and/or despise, being constantly abused by your superiors, and being paid minimum wage for it.
Where's the integrity in that?
I'd rather be wealthy, with haters whining on the internet how people with "real talent" can't get anywhere, yet fuckers like me collect all the spoils.

Meh... I enjoy my job and live comfortably... I am not rich but I can sustain myself, and save up for stuff...!

I am the second option, and I am very happy with it! I wouldn't degrade my values for anything, least of all money!

The integrity is sticking to your values, knowing that you are not fucking anyone else over with your money, or having to do degrading things for it!

 

[C F]

It depends on how far the "selling out" goes. If the answer means to the point I would compromise my beliefs for money, then I'll take average/integrity every time. There's no way I'm going to jeopardize my moral integrity for money.

Although why can't I have Rich and integrity? Because that's totally what I'm aiming for in life.

 

[isometry]

If you can discover a better way of life than office-holding for your future rulers, a well-governed city becomes a possibility. For only in such a state will those rule who are truly rich, not in gold, but in the wealth that makes happiness ? a good and wise life.

I voted "average integrity", because you cannot have a good and wise life without integrity, and without those things you cannot be truly rich.

 

[Falcon123]

Money has never and will never provide me any sort of lasting happiness. I wouldn't be willing to lose everything I stand for for a whole bunch of things I don't need, especially since I'll still have average wealth, which is damn good in the U.S.

Though rich with integrity would be nice...

 

[coolbeans21]

I would give up all my integrity, morals, honour, dignity for riches, no question.

I suppose that makes me a terrible person, but I'd salve my conscious with gold plated jetskis

 

[loc978]

This is a hard choice for me, since I currently consider myself an average sellout. On the one hand, I could continue making the money I am now working in a field I find morally acceptable (so maybe move from security in the financial sector to engineering for a renewable energy venture)... or I could somehow become rich with a big one-time sellout.
Despite what other people say, I can retire on as little as two million. I know where I can invest to get steady returns of $80,000 per year off of $2,000,000 with no loss in capital. Anyone who can't live on $80,000 per year, at least in the US, is already rich.

So hard to decide. I may come back to this, but for now I'm withholding my vote.

 

[Doitpow]

Depends on definitions of "rich" and "sellout"
Sellout my "image" like a rockstar or something for millions of pounds? Fuck yeah.
Sellout my morals for a decent wage like a sales rep or an advertiser? Fuck no.

 

[liquidsolid]

I am not sure what the sellout aspect would be pertaining to, but money is money so I voted Rich Sellout.

I don't want to be some lackey ***** with "integrity", capitalism is built off of the idea of 'selling out'

Either way, money is power and I would rather have power than be weak.

 

[Vegosiux]

Average integrity.

Not being presumptious about myself being a being of incorruptible pure purenes, but...being rich sellout would just have too many stings attached, so I'm just being pragmatic.

 

[BehattedWanderer]

Eh. I'll take the modest option. Gaining something at a higher cost than it's worth is a pointless route, to me. Call me Machiavellian if you like (which I usually am), but if the ends aren't good enough, it's not worth the cost.

 

[The Abhorrent]

As someone who is going to eventually become a liscenced professional engineer (graduating this semester, then I'll have to go through a few years as an EIT), and looking into specializing into structural engineering (and hopefully later, bridge design)?

Integrity, hands down.

Yes, professionalism is a factor here. To have such a status held in such high regard and having an enormous amount of responsibility means that it's actually in my best interests to maintain my integrity, having a reputation for honesty is a necessity for my chosen profession. Even I don't do anything technically not illegal, I could easily lose my liscence for such conduct and be banned from practicing engineering as a result.

To put the situation into context... everything else being equal, who would you rather have designing a major bridge project? An average person with a reputation for integrity, or a rich person who's rumoured to be a sell-out? Who would you trust?

---

Unlike many of you, it's almost certain I'm going to run into this sort of situation over the course of my career; not just once or twice either, repeatedly. Willful neglect and cutting corners are not an option for me, I have to ensure that anything I design is both functional and safe. I have a duty to society as a whole to do my work properly, and it can't be comprimised for personal gain. Suggesting cheaper alternatives (which are still viable) and genuine improvements are acceptable, but a certain standard must never be comprimised.

On the bright side, my chosen career path does more or less guarantee a substantial salary. Nothing outrageous, but I should never have financial issues due to a lack of income; overspending and other expenses can still cause problems, but that's a different issue altogether.

Considering that many of the projects I'll eventually are guaranteed to have multi-million dollar budgets, if not multi-billion? I'll have to make sure whatever is built is built right; and for people to allow me to do that, they have to be able to trust me with all that money. And they will be watching. Anyone who can't maintain their integrity and resist the temptation of swift fortunes will soon find themselves on the path swift misfortune.

 

[Zen Toombs]

It sortof depends on the amount of selling out required. If it only requires a small amount of selling outness, I would totally go for being rich. However, otherwise I would keep my integrity.

 

[razer17]

Rich sellout every day. As long as I still have my friends, I'd rather be a sellout than a working drone. Money + friends could make happiness.

I'd be happy to sell out my morals for vast amounts of cash. Want me to endorse that videogames make kids violent? Sure, just fill these coffers with some gold first. Call gay marriage an abomination? It isn't, but I'll say it is for a price. As long as what I was selling out didn't alienate me from my friends and family I'd do it, who cares what others think?

 

[RoBi3.0]

I am going to quote one of my favorite author then Yahtzee. Afterward I think it will be clear how I feel.

I don't care what anyone does with my books, as long as the check clears. -Chuck Palahnuik


Fan are whiny complaining dipshits that will never be happy with any confession you make- paraphrasing Yahtzee.


I will always make decisions based on what I think is best not what my fans feel is best cause it is my life not their's.

 

[BlackStar42]

Depends on what "integrity" means, what sort of principles I'd have to break. Going on just integrity vs riches alone, integrity every time. Honour, being able to look myself in the face and sleeping easy at night is far more important than wealth.

 

[Dragonclaw]

I'm not going to lie, many of my morals are flexible enough to be bought...sellout it is!