Reflections on the Fourth of July

“Honor: A History” is a book written by James Bowman that describes the loss of honor from the lexicon of 21st century American society. The author states, “Honor is stark and unrelenting” and “Americans do not like stark choices”. If one accepts the premise, the question is why has honor been lost from our vocabularies?

Observing those who would be President, Mr. Bowman may be correct. Pretenders to the throne rely on polls of the ill informed as a substitute for leadership. In contrast, our Founding Fathers did not rely on polls. They relied on the writings of John Locke, their conviction that they must stand up to the great British army and navy, and the courage to do so no matter the cost. If we are to survive as a nation in the 21st century, we should start with the definition of honor.

One may define honor as a sense of what is right, just and true. It is the finest sense of justice our minds can frame. Honor is exhibited by conscious exertion of one’s self esteem exhibited throughout the course of one’s lifetime.

As with our Founding Fathers, it is axiomatic that in each man’s life, in each nation’s there comes a time to decide between good and evil, truth and falsehood, decisive leadership or poll watching. The poem, “Once to Every Man and Nation” comes to mind. Written by James R. Lowell, this most quoted thought appeared in the “Boston Courier” on December 11, 1845. “...Then it is the brave man chooses while the coward stands aside...” We expect bravery and honor of our military leaders. We should expect no less from our civilian leaders because if we expect nothing of them, that is exactly what we will get. Reflecting on the conviction and courage of our Founding Fathers, the bravery of our military, we the people of the United States must define honor, first for ourselves as individuals and secondly, for those we elect. Never expect the converse to be true.

Ayn Rand once described to West Point’s graduating class that, “...the highest integrity and sense of honor exhibited by character, resolution, the persistence to do what is right despite the cost are virtues.” To lead the most moral country in the world, one must have an individual sense of earnestness, dedication and a conscientious awareness of honor. In order to be retained in the lexicon of the 21st century, honor has to begin with each of us, individually.
Hank Hessing
Babylon, NY