It wasn't always easy growing up the son of an Army officer who served in World War II and Korea. Rue Masterson, or "The Colonel," as I called him, set high standards for himself and his children. And at the top of his list was a trio of expectations: character, integrity and honor.
I suspect I wasn't alone as a member of the baby boomer generation. Others, I'm sure, had similar messages drilled into them. It doesn't mean any of us turned out as exemplary examples. But the drumbeat in my house was clear and constant.
So my question is where did we lose our society's expectation of individual integrity, character and the honor? It's obviously vanished over the past six decades. Suppose it somehow evaporated? Perhaps it fell from favor with increasing numbers who prefer self-indulgence, instant gratification and pursuing any means to their ends--those who fail to honor even themselves?
Did it begin to grow with Vietnam or Richard Nixon? Maybe when so many badly broken families began disintegrating into a mishmash of self-indulgence and permissiveness?
Suppose our declining education system had anything to do with this shredding of the national fabric? How about pervasive drug use, or the mass media making anything and everything once deemed immoral and selfish seem acceptable and enviable? Might it be a system of justice that too often is anything but?
I have to believe it's a combination of all those dominoes toppling in no particular order.
Whatever the causes, I believe losing our collective sense of individual character, integrity and honor lies at the heart of our once proud nation's extremely serious problems.
I've read honor described as the evaluation of a person's trustworthiness and social states based on consistency between their words and actions. One's honor, in effect, determined their character and whether their spirit reflects honesty, respect for themselves and others, as well as a sense of fairness. You can wrap all those qualities together and bind them in a ribbon that reads integrity.
Like it or not, we each wind up being consciously assigned worth and stature in society based in large measure upon the consistence and harmony of our actions and interactions with others. Back in my childhood I was told repeatedly that any person is only as good and solid as their word. At one point in America, contracts were made with a simple verbal agreement.
A far cry from today where we witness a steady stream of dishonest and dishonorable behavior. Constant lies from the top of our governmental hierarchies have become expected. One scam after another, from deceptive auto manufacturers to Wall Street greed, permeates business dealings and many of our personal associations. Even publicly calling others nasty names to gain perceived advantage has become accepted behavior.
Today's prevailing goals seem to be acquire as much wealth, stuff and influence as you can in the easiest way possible before you're buried. Get yours, regardless of consequences to those around you.
I can't recall the last time I heard or read about the intrinsic benefits of living honorable lives grounded in character and integrity. Heck, I can't recall even hearing those words mentioned in the last 40 years.
I do, however, hear constantly about big campaign contributions and widespread dishonesty and corruption while witnessing the devastating influence of money on our individual and collective honor.
Remember when being elected to public service in America meant exactly that? It was honorable to serve rather than seen as an opportunity for personal gain through abusing the trust of voting citizens. Remember that adage about not doing something if you wouldn't want your mother knowing about it? Remember when it generated positive feelings to do the right thing just for the sake of doing so?
We ought to truthfully answer the question of how deeply we honor the person we are. How much does truth (and doing the right thing toward others) mean to us? What's your word worth? Then ask who we consider honorable people in our lives and why. Can we rely on their words and actions? If so, there's a good chance they deserve our trust, respect and honor. If not, well, sadly enough they're far from alone in 2016 America.
I signed
Teresa Turk, a fisheries scientist devoted to protecting the Buffalo National River, has helped launch a statewide petition drive to provide an outlet for Arkansans who care about protecting the precious stream from possible contamination from raw hog waste generated by C&H Hog Farms at Mount Judea. Intended for Gov. Asa Hutchinson, the petition contained over 1,300 signatures in its initial days. I signed it because I believe we the people must express our opinions on such a critically important state and national matter.
I'd also encourage all readers to visit the petition site and register your thoughts at change.org/p/asa-hutchinson-keep-the-buffalo-river-free-of-hog-waste.
------------v------------
Mike Masterson's column appears regularly in the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette. Email him at [email protected].
Editorial on 05/14/2016