Honour, Integrity and the Golden Rule

I was recently asked what my thoughts are on honour. This topic is however one of those things that can keep us busy forever and a day. So let me try to get to my point as quickly as what I possibly can.

When I think of the word Honour. I almost immediately think of the Klingon race in Star Trek. Granted, that is because I am a Trekkie. The Klingon race is all about honour. Everything that they do is due to them either moving to honour or away from dishonour. Saying that however, one has to realize that to define what is honourble and what is not, is largely open to the interpretation of ones own moral judgment and then the interpretation of the action. Let me paint a picture for you. Joe Bob is an employee at Happy Crunchies Burgers (Just a name I quickly sucked out of my thumb.) Joe bob knows that the owner/boss of the Business is busy with actions that could potentially bring Mr. Boss some issues. So what does Joe Bob do now?

1.     We live in a world where we get trained that it is morally wrong to question your boss and that to challenge your boss could get you fired and that would bring dishonour to your family.

2.     Joe Bob can decide that the actions of his boss are dishonourable and therefore challenge him, to try and bring honour to his boss.

3.     Joe Bob could decide that either way he doesn’t care about what happens and so shows a clear lack or disregard for honour.Choosing not to act is afterall still an action.

I do believe that honour is extremely important and that one should live an honourable life. But the crux of the matter is: “Honour according to whose definition of what it means?” 

So I have over the years actually asked a few people this very question and most, I would say about 87% of the people that I have spoken to about this, has responded with the Golden Rule. The rule that stipulates that you should do unto others, as you would have them do unto you. I realize that this “rule” is in just about every spirituality that is on this earth. Lets look at only a few.

·       Wicca: ‘An ye harm none, do as ye will’ (or ‘Lest ye harm none, do as ye will’)

·       Buddhism: ‘Hurt not others with that which pains yourself’

·       Christianity: ‘All things what so ever you would have that men should do to you, do you even so to them’

·       Hinduism: ‘This is the sum of duty, do naught to others, which if done to thee would cause pain’

·       Islam: ‘None of you is a believer until he loves his brother, what he loves for himself’

As you can see, just about every spirituality believes that you should not do things to others that if done to you, you would not like. This then means the things that you like to have done to you is ok to do to other people. Let me paint another picture for you.

Joe Bob likes it when he is on the receiving end of oral sex. The “Golden Rule” then implies that he is allowed to give it to whomever he wishes.  Not taking into consideration the person's personal morals and interpretation of the “Rule”.  Remember I am not the one that linked the Golden Rule with the concept of honour. I am simply giving you my interpretation of how I understand these things. The “Golden Rule” also does not take into consideration the morals and feelings of the other people that Joe Bob wants to go down on. Yes he loves it when it happens but it says nothing about what they love and or want.

Even when we look at the word Integrity it is a bit fifty shades. We are looking at this word because it was the next natural step. The meaning of integrity is defined as  

“The act of an entering a person or group may be measured in hours for consistency against that entity's espoused value system to determine integrity. This type of measurement is subjective because its measures rely on the values of the party doing the testing.”

You see it clearly states that it is measured by the values of the PARTY DOING THE TESTING.

All of it boils to the same point. That we are all individuals and what I deem honourable and what Joe Bob deems honourable won’t necessarily ever be the same. It is influenced by our persona’s, how we grew up, our social structure and and and. This then leads to the age-old maxim of

“Never judge a person until you've walked a mile in their shoes.”

Personally I also believe that, that is impossible but maybe that is a topic for another time.

No I am not saying that, because of all that I said here it is ok for you to be a person that has no regard for others. What I am saying though is that you should be mindful of how your actions and your life not only affect you, but also those around you, whether positive or negative. That is not my issue, that is your issue and it is your conscious that you have to live with.

In an ideal world or at the face value of the word, yes I do believe in honour and Integrity, but the simple truth is, that it is far more complex than just a simple word.