That inch is the final measure of a man or woman. Honour it, and you go to your grave without a single regret; dishonour it, and you risk making everything you've ever done meaningless. Which category are you in?
(Let me say at the outset that I have no interest in pursuing some personal feud with RPK or anyone else. As my father says, friends are friends, business is business. I'm not interested in seeing who can shout the loudest or with the most bravado; only in separating sound and fury from tried and true values.)