James Hamilton
Personal Honor Code
Traditionally, honor means “a good name; public esteem or respect” (Webster) For me honor means something more. I would like to draw upon two quotes from modern culture to help define what honor means for me. Firstly, in the more public arena, I will draw from a quote from the movie “The Kingdom of Heaven”. Upon being inducted into his father’s order, Orlando Bloom must swear to ‘speak the truth, even if it leads to his death’. For me, this is absolutely crucial; there is honor in the truth. I refuse to lie about anything, even simple things, being sick, to skip tests or telling someone a white lie just to make them feel better. Sometimes, this may come off as being harsh, but, as people come to know me, they can really appreciate that what I say is genuine and true, and I take great pride in this. Secondly, and this is where my definition differs from the traditional one, I will quote a saying often used to describe integrity, that is “it is how you act when nobody is looking”. I put great effort and a great emphasis on being honest and well intentioned, even when I know that I may not get social ‘credit’ for my actions. While this does not directly affect my public sense of esteem, it strengthens my personal sense of honor from within. The last piece of my personal honor code can sound silly. I believe that if you want to be a champion, in a sport, classroom, chem. Lab etc, you must first act like you already are one. So, a big piece of my honor is the way in which I hold my head. I always keep my chin at least parallel with the ground and never, never look down or way when passing other people. For many cultures we have studied, honor comes from the way in which other people view and appreciate ones morals. For me, this is not quite as true. I have always been of the belief that the only person who you can truly count on, at any time, is yourself and, furthermore, that you must first have a good understanding of yourself and a good sense of your own direction before others can really respect or honor you. My emphasis, with respect to honor, is not necessarily on ‘public esteem’. I care far more about my personal esteem, how I view myself and my actions; I believe that once you have become a strong individual, from within, the ‘public esteem’ will just come naturally.