Office politics on a sunny day

My friend R. left for London last Saturday with his six months' pregnant wife. Before he left, we shared a couple of glasses of cinnamony Hoegaarden in an open air bar on the Friday night. We discussed office politics and how it seems that wherever you go, unless you play the game, you never make it to the top.
"It's because I'm willing to take responsibility, as opposed to doing something wishy-washy to please everyone," R. said.
It is probably true that no one likes being told they are wrong, or that they should do something differently. I don't believe in playing along with something just because the person in charge is higher up than me (which is, at this stage, usually always the case, given that the only people below me are paralegals, trainees and newly qualified associates). This has meant several stand-offs with my supervisor in the past couple of weeks.

But if you don't do what you think is right - provided that it is right - then you have to deal with the consequences.
"You have to be able to look yourself in the mirror every morning and be proud," R. said. Indeed. I wonder at some people in my office how they can carry themselves. Although I am upset by the way some things work out in the office because of the politics involved, at the end of the day, I realise that if I find it so troubling, I should quit and be an honest tea lady somewhere. The question is, how much more of this am I willing to take?