The demise of a Nation

For some time now I have been trying to put my finger on why America has gone so wrong.  At first I thought it was because of the enormous greed and the constant concentration of “me” and “mine”, and then I thought it was because this nation is still suffering through “growing pains”.   I now think that I awake this morning with the answer.

America used to be a place of honor and no matter of the circumstances of your birth or what part of this nation you hailed from, honor was the key.  The “founding fathers” were men of honor and therefore took great pains to make sure that no one trampled on it.  They would fight duels in defense of that honor.  The American Indians used to be viewed as a Nation of Honor but now are classified as “second-class” citizens.  Men used to defend the honor of women and the man who stood up first to do so was considered honorable.  Now they are considered “henpecked”.  The military used to be a place of honor and the title was earned and appreciated by all when it was acknowledged that they served.  Still minorities and women were treated the same after serving just as they had been prior.  Farmers used to be considered a task of honor because of the long days and nights it took to be successful and help feed America but now it is seen as a task only of those of the less educated variety and often ignored.  Doctors, lawyers, police officers and firemen was also a job of honor but now are seen as only a job given little if any honor.

I came about this thought after watching some of Meet the Press with David Gregory where he allowed Lindsey Graham to sit there on his program, speak out of both sides of his mouth and not get challenged.  In the title of those who serve in Washington, they have school kids write the Honorable but where is the honor.  Where is the honor if you can not face those who will ask you the tough questions as well as the easy ones?  In baseball, hitters have to face the tough pitches as well as those that are not so tough yet in politics, they can choose the person or people that they want to receive the pitch from.  Rachel Maddow made it a point to let her viewing audience know that her staff is trying hard to get “the other side” to come on her show.  She wondered out loud why she was having such a hard time. 

Well Ms. Maddow, I think I have the answer and it is because they have no honor. 

Honor is being willing to stand in the box and take pitches from whomever is throwing them, dodging only from those aimed at your head.  It is not to pick and choose which questions you want to answer because you have practiced what to say if asked.  It’s not to know the questions in advance or to hide questions in the audience.  Honor has very little to do with taking the easy way and much more to do with taking the best way.  Honor is admitting you may be wrong even if you you’re right because being right are not possible all of the time.  Honor is what’s missing on Wall Street as it is on Main Street and without it we shall continue to go astray.  To recapture honor all we need to do is hold each other accountable and responsible for their actions.  Be willing to admit that we are not perfect and have our faults but those faults will never shape our destiny.