By the Toledo Tribune.
There was a time when a man’s word was worth more than gold, and a handshake could bind stronger than any lawyer’s ink. A time when breaking trust earned you something more than a slap on the wrist—something closer to the business end of a dueling pistol. Or, if you were particularly unlucky, a bucket of tar, a sack of feathers, and a one-way ride out of town on the nearest splintered rail.
But that was a different time. Now, a man can lie straight to your face, break every promise he’s ever made, and still be invited to dinner—provided he wears the right suit. Honor, once the measure of a man, has become an old relic, a thing we whisper about in history books while rewarding its absence in the world around us.
And so I ask: Is honor gone forever? Or does it simply wait for men and women with the backbone to bring it back?
What Honor Really Means
Let us first set the record straight: honor is not stubbornness, nor is it a license for foolish pride. It is not a man puffing out his chest, nor is it winning every fight. Honor is a quieter thing, a heavier thing. It is the keeping of one’s word when breaking it would be easier. It is standing firm in truth when a lie would do just fine. It is paying a debt, even when no one would collect.
And it has a price.
The man who walks the road of honor walks a harder path than most. He will lose when others cheat. He will hold fast while others bend and sway with the winds of convenience. He will find himself standing alone, often, because it is far easier to look the other way than to hold fast to principle.
But there is one thing harder than living with honor—and that is losing it.
It is a popular tale, these days, that the Founding Fathers were a pack of reckless rebels, eager to throw tea into harbors and fire muskets at anything wearing a red coat. But that, my dear reader, is the nonsense of schoolbooks written by men who have never fired anything more dangerous than a letter to the editor.
No, the men who stood at Lexington and Concord were not eager for battle. They stood in quiet lines on the green, muskets in hand, while British Regulars bore down upon them. And when the first shots rang out, they did not return fire—not out of fear, nor disorganization, but because they still hoped honor could be restored without war.
Bunker Hill, the Seige of Boston, and the Battle of Moore’s Creek came after, and still they hesitated. For a full year, they pleaded with their King to make things right, to uphold his duty to those under his care. But when a leader forgets his duty, when he no longer bends the knee to protect, secure, and lift those he governs, then—and only then—do honorable men take their stand.
Honor did not rush into rebellion. It was dragged into it by a King who refused to act with it.
And let us not forget, those who signed their names to that Declaration did not do so lightly. They knew what it meant. They knew they were forfeiting their fortunes, their safety, and quite possibly, their lives. But honor demanded it, and so they paid the price.
The Decline of Honor: How We Lost Our Way
Once upon a time, a man who broke his word was ruined. Now, he is promoted. He is elected. He is welcomed back into polite society with barely a scolding.
Dishonor, once a stain, has become a strategy.
It began slowly, of course, as these things do. First, we replaced personal accountability with laws written in ink instead of blood. Then, we let wealth sit in the seat where principle once ruled. We allowed our leaders to exchange service for power, until their duty was not to the people, but to themselves.
And worst of all, we grew tired of expecting better. We shrugged. “It’s just how the world is,” we said. “Everyone lies,” we muttered. And so we stopped demanding honor, and in its place, we made room for something much worse—cynicism.
But I say, cynicism is a coward’s excuse. If honor has faded, it is because we allowed it to. And if we have lost it, then let us ask: how do we reclaim it?
The Cost of Losing Honor
A world without honor is a world without trust. And a world without trust is a house without a foundation—it may stand for a while, but when the storm comes, it falls.
When men in power deceive, and the people expect to be deceived, the very fabric of society begins to rot.
We have let dishonor go unpunished, and so it has flourished. Where once a man paid dearly for breaking his word, now he is rewarded with wealth, with influence, with invitations to the finest parties.
But history has shown us that honor, once lost, can be restored—if a man is willing to pay the price.
The Path to a Return to Honor
If honor is to return, it must first return to the individual. It must be restored in small places before it can rise again in great ones. And so, I offer this:
1. Keep your word. Let a handshake mean something again.
2. Demand integrity in leadership. Stop excusing lies simply because they serve your side.
3. Strengthen community bonds. Honor is a fire that spreads from one man to another.
4. Teach the next generation. If we fail to pass it down, it dies with us.
5. Reject cynicism. Honor can only exist in a world that believes in it.
And when honor is lost, let us return to the ways of old—not with pistols at dawn, perhaps, but with something just as binding:
• Through courage. A man who has lost his honor must be willing to stand, even when it is hard. (The Duel)
• Through humility. A public apology, not in whispers, but in full view of those betrayed. (Public Atonement)
• Through action. Repayment, restitution, service to those wronged. (Acts of Redemption)
• Through time. For honor is not restored in a single act—it must be earned, again and again.
The road is long. The cost is high. But I tell you this—it is worth it.
Honor is not lost. It is merely waiting.
It waits in the hearts of those who still believe a man’s word should mean something. It waits in the quiet resolve of those who choose truth when a lie would be easier. It waits in the hands of those who still build, still serve, still fight for something greater than themselves.
The road back will not be easy, but then again, it never was. The question is not can we return to honor, but will we?
Let history say of us: They stood for something. They paid the price. They brought honor back to the world.
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