Honor From Our Fathers

by Doctor Zero

My father gave me the greatest gift anyone could give another person: he believed in me.
- Jim Valvano

Honor is essential to the maintenance of a free society.  We learn about honor from our fathers.

When the duties of fatherhood are widely dismissed, or rendered poorly, our understanding of honor is diluted… and freedom soon begins to wither.

This is not to belittle the importance of mothers.  Many single mothers do a spectacular job of providing their children with an understanding of personal honor.  We can respect and celebrate the achievements of extraordinary individuals, without blinding ourselves to the effect of broad trends upon vast populations.  Both fathers and mothers are uniquely important.  Our society is suffering from a pronounced deficit of fatherhood.

There are many ways to define honor.  I suggest viewing it as an expression of faith, in both yourself and others.  An honorable man or woman displays honesty and integrity because they believe others deserve such treatment.  It is a sign of faith in other people that we deal honorably with them, and presume they will do the same, unless they prove otherwise.  Honor is also a gesture of respect we offer to ourselves, because we have faith that we can succeed without deceit and savagery.  If you truly respect yourself, you believe you can win without cheating.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Go to the link above and read the entire post.  This'n is a keeper.  My favorite quote:
  "Honorable people carry their freedom with dignity.  They understand the difference between charity and dependence."

73