3-18-12 LATER AT NIGHT
Posted by Vincente E. Woodward on Monday, March 19, 2012
Just did a pretty good version of Samuel Barber's Adagio for Strings.
It is just a tiny bit shy of "perfect" = means I must continued on it until DEFINITIVE version is completed = must be better than perfect.
HONOR (continued)
So anyways, as I was saying the idea of there needing to be something more than that which is visible and tangible in order to justify giving up my very life, very literally, quickly became the basis for the military ethos.
It seems to me that all persons who are forced to confront the reality of their own mortality on a daily or hourly basis, will be among the first who will be seeking answers to such questions and concerns.
For as I race down a very tight and crowded thoroughfare at over one hundred miles per hour going head on into crammed traffic, such that one false move and multiple fatality catastrophe is a certainty, I had better feel that I am doing this for something more than just to pick someone up off of the street.
It is difficult to risk you life in reality for just any old thing.
It must be something worth living and dying for.
As time went on, I am sure that many persons tried many different ideas upon trying to solve this apparently irresolvable problem.
Over time the concept of HEROISM just kind of developed on it's on into a sort of a cult of the hero and the desire to act in a heroic manner.
Over time, beginning with the tales of Gilgamesh and Enkidu, and then Hercules and his twelve labors, and numerous other gods, demigods, and heroes of greek and middle eastern mythologies, the concept of the heroic person developed.
Of course, this person lived HONORABLY, at least most of the time.
(i.e. not always)\
The concept of honorable behavior could be contrasted with the concept of dishonorable, or even abhorrent behavior.
Honor thereby quickly became established as an end in itself.
It was, after all, honor which was the driving force behind most of the socially constructive behavior.
It was the life of honor which led to bold heroism.
It was the man of honor who each of us would like to have on each side of us as we stand shoulder to shoulder against an opposing formidable army.
It was the man of honor who would respect the chastity of women and with whom your daughters and wives would not only be safe, but very safe indeed.
The honorable man is a protector, NOT A PREDATOR.
It is indeed a sad commentary of our time that we normally take it for granted that matters are exactly the opposite of this.
That is to say, dishonorable behavior is to be presumed long before anyone would be comfortable in believing that any given person is, indeed, one of honorable intent and action.
It seems too hard for many people to believe that not everyone will behave in an unseemly manner when given the opportunity of chance.
And not everyone has their price, in spite of the ridiculous sayings to the contrary.
Not all men are adulterers and whoremongers, and not all women are adulteresses and whores, no matter how many times I am told that the contrary is truly the case.
I have known far too many very honorable persons, who put their lives on the line every single hour of every single day and will lay down their lives for their fellow humans without any hesitation whatsoever.
So, I do know, of a certaintyl that there are good people all around me.
These are the modern persons of honor.
And they are, in effect, in a battlefield of a different kind.
They are having to live as soldiers intent upon doing the duty which conscience dictates at any given moment..
And conscience can be a very difficult thing.
And it can tell you to do very scary things which you most certainly never will want to do and never would do, but for that nagging and nagging and nagging of your deepest inner self warning you that you are doing wrong and that you had best change your course immediately, if you expect to get home alive tonight.
It is just a tiny bit shy of "perfect" = means I must continued on it until DEFINITIVE version is completed = must be better than perfect.
HONOR (continued)
So anyways, as I was saying the idea of there needing to be something more than that which is visible and tangible in order to justify giving up my very life, very literally, quickly became the basis for the military ethos.
It seems to me that all persons who are forced to confront the reality of their own mortality on a daily or hourly basis, will be among the first who will be seeking answers to such questions and concerns.
For as I race down a very tight and crowded thoroughfare at over one hundred miles per hour going head on into crammed traffic, such that one false move and multiple fatality catastrophe is a certainty, I had better feel that I am doing this for something more than just to pick someone up off of the street.
It is difficult to risk you life in reality for just any old thing.
It must be something worth living and dying for.
As time went on, I am sure that many persons tried many different ideas upon trying to solve this apparently irresolvable problem.
Over time the concept of HEROISM just kind of developed on it's on into a sort of a cult of the hero and the desire to act in a heroic manner.
Over time, beginning with the tales of Gilgamesh and Enkidu, and then Hercules and his twelve labors, and numerous other gods, demigods, and heroes of greek and middle eastern mythologies, the concept of the heroic person developed.
Of course, this person lived HONORABLY, at least most of the time.
(i.e. not always)\
The concept of honorable behavior could be contrasted with the concept of dishonorable, or even abhorrent behavior.
Honor thereby quickly became established as an end in itself.
It was, after all, honor which was the driving force behind most of the socially constructive behavior.
It was the life of honor which led to bold heroism.
It was the man of honor who each of us would like to have on each side of us as we stand shoulder to shoulder against an opposing formidable army.
It was the man of honor who would respect the chastity of women and with whom your daughters and wives would not only be safe, but very safe indeed.
The honorable man is a protector, NOT A PREDATOR.
It is indeed a sad commentary of our time that we normally take it for granted that matters are exactly the opposite of this.
That is to say, dishonorable behavior is to be presumed long before anyone would be comfortable in believing that any given person is, indeed, one of honorable intent and action.
It seems too hard for many people to believe that not everyone will behave in an unseemly manner when given the opportunity of chance.
And not everyone has their price, in spite of the ridiculous sayings to the contrary.
Not all men are adulterers and whoremongers, and not all women are adulteresses and whores, no matter how many times I am told that the contrary is truly the case.
I have known far too many very honorable persons, who put their lives on the line every single hour of every single day and will lay down their lives for their fellow humans without any hesitation whatsoever.
So, I do know, of a certaintyl that there are good people all around me.
These are the modern persons of honor.
And they are, in effect, in a battlefield of a different kind.
They are having to live as soldiers intent upon doing the duty which conscience dictates at any given moment..
And conscience can be a very difficult thing.
And it can tell you to do very scary things which you most certainly never will want to do and never would do, but for that nagging and nagging and nagging of your deepest inner self warning you that you are doing wrong and that you had best change your course immediately, if you expect to get home alive tonight.
