A Draft Manifesto For 21st Century Honour

First published on July 15, 2020

Last week, I wrote about honour. It is one of my core values, emerging from instinct, almost, in an exercise at a workshop. And no wonder: stories of honour have fascinated and engaged me for as long as I can remember, from King Arthur and Robin Hood, through superheroes and into fantasy fiction, and in particular the work of the master of what Time Out once called 'heroic fantasy', David Gemmell.

Today, then, in an exercise in opening again to instincts, here is a draft manifesto for 21st Century Honour.

What, then, is honour?

Honour is doing the right thing, even when it's not the easy thing.

Honour is standing up for causes you believe in.

Honour is acting in line with the principles you speak about.

Honour is immaculate integrity.

Honour is keeping your word when this is possible, and honouring it when you can't.

Honour is owning the dark sides of yourself, being aware of them, so that they don't take control.

Honour is acting to change things when you see a problem in the world.

Honour is not complaining but doing nothing.

Honour is not asking others to do things which you wouldn't do yourself.

Honour is not preaching about things which you do not embody yourself.

Honour is not standing by while bad things happen to others in your presence.

Honour is not using the weapons of 'evil' in 'service' of good.

Honour is not 'the end justifies the means'.

Honour is believing the best of others, even when you may need to take action 'against' them.

Honour is believing in making a difference in the world.

Honour is believing in a better tomorrow, even while accepting the problems of today.

Honour is not acting out of hate.

Honour is 'having the back' of your fellow travelers.

Honour is making difficult choices when they are required.

Honour is having a code, and living by it.

Honour is taking 100% responsibility for what happens in your life, no more, no less.

Honour is knowing you are just one person, and doing what one person can do in the face of injustice

Honour is undestanding and placing high value on family, friendship and camaradarie. On brotherhood and sisterhood.

Honour is service of a higher purpose.

Honour is commitment to something bigger than yourself.

Honour is knowing you will not always be right, but that isn't an excuse to not try.

Honour is trying.

Honour humility in the face of your limitations.

Honour is doing everything you can to make sure you are making things better and not making things worse.

Honour is planting trees even though you will not be alive to sit in their shade.

Honour is rebuilding a wall, even though it is not your job to rebuild it.

What, then, is honour?