Honor is Not an Anachronism

I took a break this weekend from world events and social media / internet discourse to accompany a den of Webelos on camping trip in extreme northeast Alabama. Although the nights were quite cold (low 30's), it was a beautiful couple of days in the outdoors. I couldn't escape thinking about the state of our culture, however, as I watched these young scouts interact with their older Boy Scout brethren. When the older scouts began to instruct their younger counterparts on the Scout Oath and Scout Law, I could not help but to consider the vital importance of the values they convey.

The Scout Oath

On my honor, I will do my best
To do my duty to God and my country and to obey the Scout Law;
To help other people at all times;
To keep myself physically strong, mentally awake and morally straight.

I could expound on the whole of the above, but allow me to highlight that last line. Keeping physically strong means what it means - take care of your body. Keeping mentally awake (I love this one), means to learn all you can, be curious and ask questions. In other words, observe, learn and think. Finally, keeping morally straight means to live honestly, be clean in your speech and actions, and to be a person of strong character. In this day and age, how hard that is to do! But it can be done. Fulfilling the principles that undergird this oath requires a self-discipline that we often fail to exercise. But again, it can be done!

The Scout Law

A Scout is:
- Trustworthy,
- Loyal,
- Helpful,
- Friendly,
- Courteous,
- Kind,
- Obedient,
- Cheerful,
- Thrifty,
- Brave,
- Clean,
- and Reverent.

That's a tall order to ask of anyone, much less a modern teenager. But if we (and they) are able to model even a portion of the values and attitudes embodied above, how much brighter would our future be! For a life lived this way cannot help but to shape and mold us into people of integrity, honesty and honor.

Honor is not an anachronism. It continues to be imbued and imparted to a new generation of young men. Their numbers may be small as a sample of the population, and many may fall short at times (don't we all), but the principles and values remain essential and timely.

Our world and our nation needs honorable men and women. They are out there, not making headlines, but doing what they can, where they are, to the best of their ability. We just need more of them.

The great wonder of learning to live honorably is this: We can start at any age. Each of us. May we choose to do so, and set the example for the next generation.