A Personal Code of Honor (original) (raw)

A Personal Code of Honor

by Natalie Daniels, Councilmember: Society of Mars

Honor, by its classical definition, consists of three primary components; at least where it applies to the warrior. These are Obligation, Justice, and Courage. Secondary components of courtesy, honesty, fairness and consistency must also be considered.

"Obligation is the root of warrior honor. So said Forrest Morgan in his book, ‘Living the Martial Way’. Meeting one’s obligations is the principle part of what make a warrior honorable." Not just financial or filial, but all of the obligations of everyday life. Obligation is in short the warriors bond and his currency. Support is exchanged for loyalty and so on. That is the ideal. The reality of the issue is that obligation is not always clear. The warrior must weigh obligation against the situation in which it is offered. This is how the justice of an obligation is measured. In my opinion, sometimes the obligation is to ones self. In this case the warrior must simply strive for personal excellence, thus, at least his most personal obligation is met. The rest is sure to follow with hard work. In conclusion obligation encompasses every exchangeable commodity, concrete or otherwise that one encounters in life, and it is up to the obliged to set their precedence.

Justice is the second component. Act rightly. It is the implied ‘right’ or ‘wrong’ of an act performed. It is the duty of the warrior to determine:
1. Is the act I am to perform just, or am I about commit an injustice?
2. Am I committing this deed for the right reasons? Is justice being served?

It is the warrior’s responsibility to determine the integrity of a potential master. The warrior must never allow him or herself to become obligated to an unjust person or entity. Doing this as a matter of course will help the warrior to avoid battles of conscience. Easier said than done, I’ll admit. Even a deed performed for the right reasons can be evil if it serves to create an injustice. An evil deed done for the sake of good is no less evil and the doer must live with the consequences, legal or otherwise. An example follows.

The duel is a custom among many warrior cultures. Most people would assume that a duel is fought for Honor. It is simply not true. A duel is fought to save Face. A true warrior knows the difference and will be the first to tell you that Honor has nothing to do with it.

"To see what is right and not to do it is to want of courage" Confucius
Courage is the virtue most often associated with Honor. To risk life and limb in just service is the warrior’s reason for living. Courage is absolutely essential to a warrior’s life and a pivotal component of honor. Life’s little problems demand the courage to face them responsibly.

Courtesy is a vastly underrated virtue these days. Simply put, a bully is no match for a potential victim that refuses to be ruffled. Manners can cut deeper than the sharpest sword.

Honesty speaks for itself.

Fairness in everyday life is the most unimpeachable way to fulfill an obligation.

Consistency is often overlooked by people and shouldn’t be. A lack of instability in one’s dealings with others and consistent behavior will help build the people’s trust in a warrior as well as in a leader, and will build a leader’s trust in a warrior as well.