on honor

For those of you who don't know, I went ahead and got the tattoo described in the earlier post. It's now permanently inscribed on my right forearm, from near the elbow to about halfway up the wrist. So that happened.

Subsequently, I've had a few people ask me why "honor" is so important, why that was worth getting a tattoo about. Well, that's a tough question. About the best I can say is that being an honorable man is the ideal that I strive more than any other. I'm not too concerned about wealth or knowledge or righteousness or even truth. For me, the main ideal is honor.

Culturally, that word is a little loose, so here's the best description I could come up with; for a man to act with honor is for him to do all of the things he is responsible for and only the things he has a right to do. Not is right to do, mind you, but things he has a right to do. Some things that happen are not right--they are not just or moral or good--but they are things that a man may not have the right to prevent. It's a rough concept, and not one for which I have explicit rules. But that's the ideal for which I strive. I can't say I fulfill it always; I do fail, just like everyone else.

But that's what's tattooed on my arm. Honor. Right where I can see it, right where I can read it. For the rest of my life.

I hope that's enough explanation to suit you all.