Posted by
Steve on Thursday, August 31, 2006 3:37:06 AM
Honor is something that seems old these days. There was a time when honor meant everything. People would go out of their way to make sure that their honor stayed intact. Today, if it is not written down, it is not going to happen.
The time of a handshake sealing a deal is over. There are some of us old fogies left that still believe in keeping our word. But, for most people, their word means nothing. What brings this on is that I watched the movie "300 Spartans". For that Spartan king, his word was everything. He said he would defend Greece and he did. He could have made a half hearted attempt and made excuses, but he had to fulfill his word. Because he kept his word, Greece was able to defeat Persia in that war. That victory changed history and allowed Greece to develop the freedoms we enjoy today.
In contrast, my daughter-in-law bought a car and promised to pay. We co-signed because she had shown herself to be honest and hard working. As soon as she got the car, she started job jumping. She stopped paying for the car and now will not talk to us for any reason. She is not trying to live up to her word, she is trying to hide. That is not how I was brought up. I cannot understand how people will not stand up and be counted.
She is not unusual. We see people like her all around us. They are more concerned with getting all they can. They do not care who they hurt by not living up to their word. In my life, I have always tried to live up to what I promised to do. I have not always been successful in achieving what I said I would, but I always tried my best to do it. I have a hard time understanding people who do not do their best.
When we lived in North Dakota, it was not uncommon to see cars in parking lots idling with the keys in them and unlocked. In small towns everyone knows everyone. The crime rate is so low, people can do that. In fact, when we bought our first house in North Dakota, they could not find the keys for the house. The house had not been locked for years. In the larger towns in North Dakota, you still saw the cars running, but the houses were locked and the crime rate was higher.
My point is that we need to get back to the time when people had personal honor. When people believed in themselves and did what they said they would do. If we as a people did this, we would become so strong as a people, we could never be defeated. We would not be arguing over should we defend this country or not. There would be no question on direction. The disagreements would come on details not the big pictures. That would be an America I would like to see. Of course, I will never live long enough to see it. But it could happen again some time in the future. It would take some outside event so terrible, I do not want to be around to see it.