Every year, for the past sixty seven years straight have I listened
to inspiring speeches on the subject of the word “honor” and how it has
impacted history and other people’s lives for so many different reasons. Every day we are reminded of those before us
who acted with honor and sacrificed their very own lives to deliver their
message or contribution to society at the risk of life and death.
One thing I have noticed about the word is that it has often
been accompanied with another word “fear” that lives inside of us as well. Thus we must ask, what is the correlation
between honor and fear and how do those two words create a legacy?
Reflecting of society’s conflicts of war, struggles endured
to ensure our civil rights, marching for racial equality and actively
protecting the earth’s environment has brought so many causes to light, it has
been difficult to keep up with them all. Somewhere entwined amongst these
struggles are life’s teachings and the men and women who had the courage to do
something about how they felt on the matter and bringing into the light for
knowledge and discussions.
In many respects, these people had a dream and brought it to
us to benefit from or to learn more about our conflicts in our personal and
professional daily lives. There are Nobel Prize winners who wanted peace and
cures to solve the world’s plagues and famine but also there were those never
recognized for such a prestigious award that have equally contributed to
mankind through the sacrifices made of themselves and taking on society who
ridicule their work and disparage they efforts as being selfish and vain.
Having honor often brings fear. Fear of harm, fear of
humiliation, and the fear of failure. Sometimes this fear creates a deep anger
within ourselves and brings us into a volatile situation even while knowing
this conflict was merely created by the fear from inside you.
Needing to stay calm and avoiding any type of conflict can
be hard when you are pressed on principle and honor to do the right thing. I also
knew responding with ire or aggressiveness would not allow me to achieve my
goal as my primary goal was to encourage others to say what they needed to say
and put it in print if they had to do so to aspire greater things in their
life.
Refusing to bend or submit to the negative energy was a
challenge. I believe every person must endure some kind of struggle in order to
achieve something significant in life. Life without struggle would be too easy
and often not worth the effort put forth to make things better. No one lives in
a world of perfection. Not one person can say they are perfect and that
conflict has not taken control of them at one time or another.
No one can say that they haven’t had any conflict with
people who are angered, frustrated and hated you because you did what you did,
said what you said and believed you were right. It is nature’s law that such
conflicts ends with controversy and doubts. Having said that, I still chose to
take a course of action that has served me well. I continue to put my words
into print and hope that someone, someday, will understand what my message is
and carry it on with their own honor and no doubt their own fears.
Society is cruel. It wants you to play the game. It is a
two-faced world as they console you with stillness, kindness and apparent
compassion while on the other side, they cut you down and drown your words into
the abyss unequivocally with quickness and hopes no one gets to read them in
time to make a change in their minds or actions.
Honor is what gives you the perseverance, the stamina and
the willpower to endure the long run. It is the motivator that keeps you on
track of what you want to say and say it in the manner you mean it to be taken
and not in a politically correct circus but rather in a realistic set of
conditions that make sense and tells the truth. There is nothing anyone can say
about me or to me that makes me want to quit whatever I have challenged and
stop me dead in my tracks. I will and can respond to them with a gentle word
and a genuine smile that will frustrate the hell out of them as they try to
compromise me over and over again.
Have no doubt, the opposition is strong. It is filled with
envy, hatred and viciously strong resentment to stop you from telling the truth
about things important to you and your environment. You have to be prepared for
yelling, screaming, hitting and spitting and God forbid, hitting or other
physical attacks on you or your family. The honor in this would be to not
respond to this in the same fashion.
Although fear may drive you to do wrong, your honor must
instill non-violent responses and a steadfast set of principles to build your
case even stronger. That’s how you stand up to criticism and personal attacks
when you defend your honor.
Clearly, protecting your honor takes a great deal of
courage. It takes stamina, self-confidence and reassurances you are doing the
right thing. Standing up against the injustices around you makes you stronger,
not weaker. It gives you a deeper sense of understanding which leads to sharing
your knowledge and principles with those willing to take the risks of listening
and they spread the idea as if it was their own. That is what knowledge gives
you, it takes away power of those who oppress and gives the power back to those
who resist.
It is facing the fears that is the ultimate test of life. The
fear of harm, the hatred and the twisting of your words to not only insult or
discredit you but to destroy you. Sometimes, depending on what cause you bring
forward, there is the fear of death or being murdered while speaking the truth
but nevertheless, you have to remain peaceful and resilient in bringing your
message to the forefront and tell it like it is. The trick to maintaining your
course it to “keep your eyes on the price” and know your words will impact the
larger picture you have seen inside your mind.
This picture is your vision. Your vision is something that
extends beyond the status of today and seeks to change tomorrow. Whatever it
is, you can do it while fighting the fear to stop what you are doing and
allowing these negative forces to halt your idea, thoughts and your ideology
from reaching the ears of others who may be inspired to carry on such a cause. A
man can be killed or murdered but an idea can live forever no matter how much
it is challenged, destroyed or discredited. The vision will allow it to live.
So the vision comes from the heart, soul and spirit. It is a
narrative put into words only after you have realized its importance and how it
can change some things in life. If you die, so what, once put into ink or
print, it can live forever. Do not fear death for we must all die and if we die
for a justifiable cause, what better way to earn your honor. This is how your family,
friends and others will remember you and be very proud to have known you. There
are no casualties in life, just victims. There are no destruction of words
already said, just memories. Take the time to learn what is important to you
and do it with honor.
So now, maybe after reading this short article, your fears
have been removed from your life to do what is right. Perhaps you too have
surpassed the fear of violence, humiliation or death. We all experience the
same things in life; some greater than others but nevertheless, the fact
remains they cannot defeat you if you persist your will to say what you need to
say. All their yelling, shouting or criticizing cannot stop your words from
being heard. Even with death, they cannot defeat you.
Did you know that the best fighters are the self-disciplined
fighters? Did you know that they never get into any fights because they fear
the fight? Enduring the struggles in life itself, they have practiced over and
over getting hit, kicked, and stabbed or shot so they already know the pain
they might feel if attacked and harmed. However, they also know how to counter
such tactics and learned how to counter suck attacks to return a counter blow
or strike with more effectiveness than their opponent. They know they will be
hurt but they don’t fear the pain as much as they used to and that’s how you
overcome your fear and instill you individual honor on the line.
The key to controlling your fear is to avoid this combat and
skillfully maneuver your role into a non-combative character. Someone who is
recognized for their own skill set and abilities. This credibility will carry
weight when you see the consequences of telling the truth and the manner you present
it. Again, your honor remains intact and your goal to win is still alive. You
may have already won the battle and lost the war. The importance is how you
committed yourself to the anger and aggression before you. There is absolutely
nothing you enemy can do if you stand up for what you believe in and never
waver to the cause you have chosen. They cannot defeat those who are peaceful
and those who don’t put up a struggle like fighting fire with fire.
It is “they” who must answer why they took up the violence
rather than the calm. It is “they” who must answer why they chose to take their
own actions to destroy you or violate you when you stood there peaceable and
honorable. If they hurt you simply because you stood your ground, it is “they”
who must explain to the others why they did what they did and justify it to all
who know of your honor to say what you needed to say.
So the bottom line is you must not fear the violence or
death but rather you must deal with the fears of your ideologies being accepted
and recognized to be legitimate and successful if implemented or used in some
ways. Change is a difficult concept for many people. It is true some change is
positive and others not so positive but regardless of challenge, presenting it
in a wholesome and credible manner will launch your idea or concept so others
can adopt it or carry it through for a successful dream come true.
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