definitive: honor
i think we in the contemporary west sometimes forget what a brutal concept honor can be.
hon·or (ŏn'ər) American Heritage Dictionary
n.
1. High respect, as that shown for special merit; esteem: the honor shown to a Nobel laureate.
1. Good name; reputation.
2. A source or cause of credit: was an honor to the profession.
3. Glory or recognition; distinction.
4. A mark, token, or gesture of respect or distinction: the place of honor at the table.
5. A military decoration.
6. A title conferred for achievement.
7. Principled uprightness of character; personal integrity.
8. A code of integrity, dignity, and pride, chiefly among men, that was maintained in some societies, as in feudal Europe, by force of arms.
9. A woman's chastity or reputation for chastity.
10. A title conferred for achievement.
11. Principled uprightness of character; personal integrity.
12. A code of integrity, dignity, and pride, chiefly among men, that was maintained in some societies, as in feudal Europe, by force of arms.
having developed a significant part of my moral compass using ancient tales and classic myths, i never forget that honor and blood are close kin. by some lights honor and sacrifice are twins, but the idea of purposeful sacrifice has fallen out of fashion since the enlightenment. a pity really, because instead of stopping sacrifice of innocents, we just stopped talking about it and then forgot that we still do it. many things are still paid for through the deprivation and death of some for the abundance and wealth of others. if we had a language to talk about it, a language that acknowledged that honor costs, that glory demands a blood price, then perhaps we could reduce some of the damage done.
i learned about honor from my brother, who's 26th birthday would have been two days ago on sept. 9th. it was his guiding principle. honor always. first, honor. suffering could hardly compare. that is the way of honor when it is not tempered by pragmatism. paragons of honor shoulder the uncomfortable, the necessary, the impossible with resolution. and though it is a worthy thing, it is not a pretty thing, or even necessarily a useful thing.
in any case, i do not trifle with honor. so today, on sept. 11th, when pundits and partisans of various stripes will toss out the word lightly, as a buoy for a tired argument, as a lingual staff with which to beat the drums of war, i will be meditating on what we are obligated to give to honor the dead. and when the level of sacrifice required to celebrate glory outweighs the symbolic good of the gesture.
hon·or (ŏn'ər) American Heritage Dictionary
n.
1. High respect, as that shown for special merit; esteem: the honor shown to a Nobel laureate.
1. Good name; reputation.
2. A source or cause of credit: was an honor to the profession.
3. Glory or recognition; distinction.
4. A mark, token, or gesture of respect or distinction: the place of honor at the table.
5. A military decoration.
6. A title conferred for achievement.
7. Principled uprightness of character; personal integrity.
8. A code of integrity, dignity, and pride, chiefly among men, that was maintained in some societies, as in feudal Europe, by force of arms.
9. A woman's chastity or reputation for chastity.
10. A title conferred for achievement.
11. Principled uprightness of character; personal integrity.
12. A code of integrity, dignity, and pride, chiefly among men, that was maintained in some societies, as in feudal Europe, by force of arms.
having developed a significant part of my moral compass using ancient tales and classic myths, i never forget that honor and blood are close kin. by some lights honor and sacrifice are twins, but the idea of purposeful sacrifice has fallen out of fashion since the enlightenment. a pity really, because instead of stopping sacrifice of innocents, we just stopped talking about it and then forgot that we still do it. many things are still paid for through the deprivation and death of some for the abundance and wealth of others. if we had a language to talk about it, a language that acknowledged that honor costs, that glory demands a blood price, then perhaps we could reduce some of the damage done.
i learned about honor from my brother, who's 26th birthday would have been two days ago on sept. 9th. it was his guiding principle. honor always. first, honor. suffering could hardly compare. that is the way of honor when it is not tempered by pragmatism. paragons of honor shoulder the uncomfortable, the necessary, the impossible with resolution. and though it is a worthy thing, it is not a pretty thing, or even necessarily a useful thing.
in any case, i do not trifle with honor. so today, on sept. 11th, when pundits and partisans of various stripes will toss out the word lightly, as a buoy for a tired argument, as a lingual staff with which to beat the drums of war, i will be meditating on what we are obligated to give to honor the dead. and when the level of sacrifice required to celebrate glory outweighs the symbolic good of the gesture.