My personal honor code reflects upon my own perception of how I seem to society. While, yes, I view this is as somewhat shallow and not the best way to comport oneself, I believe that it is 100% essential to understand one’s place and how the interact with the societal structure that surrounds them. A person can have their own personal honor code that is completely separate and not influenced by any aspect of their society, but in the end they would be rejected. I believe that it is necessary that the general public’s perception is essential in surviving. I do, however, completely understand that it is not a personal honor code if it is just a reflection of what the social order calls for. Simply basing one’s morals off of the constraints of the common populace leads to a lack of inner-purpose. One must create their own rules and perceptions of what is honorable in addition to the ones offered by the surrounding community. Thus, honor to me is making sure that I have appeased my inner needs (which, in my opinion, are morally just) while still maintaining a positive and not combative relation with the common belief system.
Honor and a personal manner of living should be an essential building block of how one comports themselves and the interactions between all things. I think, however, that this is not the case. People abuse their own selfish perceptions of what is honorable and do not take into account the effect on society. This only relates back to my point that the personal honor code is enacted through society, and while one can believe in it, the results are seen and echoed throughout their community. So, I think that a version of honor, one that is generally accepted among the public but still maintains strong roots in personal idealism should be one of the more influential guiding factors in how interactions within society should proceed. In reality, the actions taken by many individuals are more made in terms of self-preservation rather than honor. Now, self-preservation in this case is not about actually sustaining health to the most basic level, rather it is the individual’s perception of how they can better themselves in a world where everyone is trying to act for him or herself. That is the problem, and that is why honor is not as pertinent in our society’s actions. It is a basic problem with how the human interacts with the people around them, and while honor would help in attaining a sort of public unity, each person’s personal honor code, usually with origins in a selfish desire, leads one astray from that which would be beneficial.
Honor is less than an outdated concept, rather it has just been molded by the evolving society’s impressions of what is right. For example, nowadays the notion of slavery is thought of in utter disgust and horror (at least in most places), but during Roman times and many other eras, slavery was just another social construct that no one truly questioned. Now, through the perspective of the morals of the world that I live in, which, sadly enough, is a huge manipulator of my idea of honor, I believe that I am living honorably. I try to help other people and be a positive force in everyone’s life and my code of beliefs models something that is perceived as constructive. But, if I had lived in the Roman times, I am sure that I would have, like the entire population, been an advocate for constraints such as slavery. This is a sad notion, yet it cannot be ignored. While the individual has his or her own discernments to what is right or wrong, it is incredibly difficult to think against the grain of society and not take into account what is commonly thought of as just. This is a sad reality, for despite all my actions to do what I believe is truly morally just, I know that my decision will be influenced by the reaction of my community. For example, I could move to a state that is adamantly against gay marriage. While there, there is no doubt in my mind that I would stand my ground for the legalization and acceptance of gay marriage, but I know that my honor code would be shut down by those around me. My honor code, in this case, if not given some sort of public spotlight or support from others, would be shut down and societally unacceptable. Even though I would argue and fight for their rights, in a larger societal sense, if I am unable to sway the personal honor codes of others (which is an entirely new and interesting notion in itself), then that honor is not important. It is, though, important to me. This represents that while my personal honor code does have two sides, that of society and my own moral values, the personal aspect of honor is in the end essential. I do not care nearly as much what society thinks of me in comparison to how I think of myself. How one views themselves is essential to their survival, and if one simply surrenders to the general public, then their personal honor code is crushed and there is no reason to maintain any sense of individual thought.