Honor is an ambiguous word that, over centuries of history, has had different meanings or interpretations. Showing honor could be represented by two warriors agreeing to duel in a certain way, such as stating “no guns”, and then standing by the agreement. It could be shown by two businessmen agreeing to a deal and not attempting to sabotage the other. In my opinion, honor represents showing respect and staying true to your word. It is a word that I seldom use, but is still very prevalent in my life. I honor agreements by not breaking them. I honor my parents by making a name for myself so that they can be proud. I honor my country by spreading its values and culture in a positive light. These three sentences display how honor affects my life, even if I do not realize it.
Honor is not human nature. But regardless of whether humans are inherently honorable or not, honor exists in society, both ancient and modern, as a mutual understanding amongst humans, and even amongst animals. Back in the time of the hoplites, it was considered honorable for warriors to stay in position and fight for their people rather than flee. Breaking the phalanx formation meant exposing the warriors from their own side, and fleeing essentially gave the enemy an easier route to victory. For the Aztecs, honoring the goods was an important part of their lifestyle; they would frequently sacrifice animals and even humans in honor of the gods. In the modern world, the concept of honor can defer based on ethnicity, religion or nationality. People in Japan interpret honor differently from people in the UK. Furthermore, once actions can be interpreted as honorable. It can be considered honorable to obey the law, or honorable to be a philanthropist.
Personally, I do not think about honor too often. If I had to answer the question “How do you live honorably” I would probably say that I show respect to my parents, teachers and friends. I respect the law, and respect my surroundings. I do not really consider how “honorable” I am being. Rather than honor, I live by the ideas that were taught to me when I was very young by my parents. I consider them good values rather than honor.
Violence can have a purpose in my life. There are many different forms of violence. There is violence in sport, such as combat-based sports. I am a junior-level black belt at Taekwondo and I do not believe it is wrong to fight for sport, as long as each person shows the other respect and obeys the rules defined prior to the fight. Violence to settle conflict is a much more controversial issue. It can range from two kids fighting in Kindergarten to full-blown wars fought with guns and WMDs. Violence, unlike honor, is probably a part of human nature. But that does not make it justifiable and I do not believe it is a necessary part of my life. The concept of an honor killing is one that has been very prevalent across Indian history. While it seems an outdated concept, it still happens today. For example, in 2012, a man decapitated his daughter’s head because she had been dating men of different religions, which brought dishonor upon the family. This, to me, is not an acceptable use of violence, especially in the name of honor. While violence can be deemed useful, especially in combat sports, I do not believe it should be a part of my life as a form of settling conflict or solving problems.