What is Honor?

So as of late, there has been much public debate about who we as a society "honor".  I recently read an article about the flying of flags at half mast in order to honor movie and music stars and not for a famous U.S. war veteran.  Another article expressed it's outrage over the President's "honored guest" at the State of the Union Address.  The guest included two illegal immigrants, but the outrage was that the four American's killed in a Libyan embassy were not mentioned.

Let's clear up a few things about honor.  As a Scout leader, I teach boys on a regular basis what it is to live a life "on your honor".  The first line of the Scout Oath is "On my honor,".  When I teach new boys, I am amazed at the vastness of the different responses about what this phrase means.  By the end of the session I have done my best to instill into the boys the Scout meaning of honor.  To live a life of honor means to stick to the words that come out of your mouth. Basically, don't lie.  It also means to do your very best at every task set before you.  The shear apathy of our culture makes this point very difficult to drive home.  Once finished teaching the Scout Oath, I move on to the Scout Law.  The first law is Trustworthy.  Which also means to stick to your word and always do the best job possible.  Do you think it's a coincidence that the first point of both the Scout Oath and Law mean the same thing?

You see, until you can have honor in your own life, it is very confusing where to place honor own others.  Until a young man can find his own identity and establish his own standards, he will be tossed to and fro with the fads and fashions of popular culture.  Honor is not some mythical thing we aspire to.  Honor is the at the core of our being.  It dictates what we do, how we do it, and why we do it.  An absence of honor at your core can lead to a very random and meaningless life.  And contrary to popular belief, our soul longs to honor things that give our life purpose and meaning.  It takes years of training to ingore those urges.  A fool knows nothing greater than himself, but a man of honor recognizes greatness everywhere he looks.

While on a personal level I agree that veterans and ambassadors should be honored over movie stars and illegal immigrants, I can not expect people who have no standards or personal honor to believe the same as me.  Most would say there is no honor or respect left in our country, I disagree.  If you hold yourself to standards and ideals, you will see past the ungrateful masses and the people who are truly worth honor will stand out to you. I hope you would also take time to go against the grain a pay your respects to those in any manner possible.  It takes courage to recognize those people that are most worth honor.

You will never do anything in this world without courage. It is the greatest quality of the mind next to honor. 
Aristotle