We’re heaving into the final stretch here. I hope you’ve gotten as much out of this exercise as I have!
It needs to be said: Honor is very tricky. Everyone knows that it’s operative in the best warriors. Lack of honor sticks out like a sore thumb! But the problem is that honorableness requires humility. I made mistakes when I was younger in using honor directly as a rhetorical concept and it did not go well for me. Folks found it intimidating and insulting and tended to focus on it over all else (even when I clearly had other problems). So while I recommend having honor and practicing your warrior life honorably, I don’t recommend talking about it much. It’s an internal device to make sure we stay on the just and righteous path. It is not for talking about with anyone, or lording over anyone. Feel free to discuss it with other like-minded warriors and to use it in private warriors’ codes and whatnot, but talking about it as if everyone should have is only a great tool for completely alienating your audience.
Honor, in my mapping, equates to the sun or to fire. Another great tool that is not useful for all purposes.
Honor keeps us on the path and keeps us from committing counterproductive acts. This is also one of the most self-referential of the principles – it acts almost as a proofread or an audit. If you have these aspects, you probably are on the right path, discharging your duties as a warrior correctly.
I’ll break it down, like before:
- Honesty
This includes self-honesty. Honor depends on honesty. Honesty not only to your opponent, but about yourself, to yourself. The first duty of honor is to honestly determine for yourself whether you are well-suited to the role of a warrior. If not, please let someone else fight the fights that need fighting. - Boundaries
I’ve spoken before about boundaries. Expect that your opponent will have ones that make sense to em. Be sure to have some of your own. The closer you can get your boundaries to those that are generally culturally expected for you to have, the more reasonable you will seem as an opponent, but I assume from the fact that you are an activist that you have some fundamental disagreements from the values and boundaries granted you by the world at large. With honor you should defend your boundaries, and you can tool your boundaries to help you know where your honor is. - Principles
Like having and defending boundaries, you should have and keep principles. Principles are not for compromise, or at least not for easy compromise. Consistency is key here. In building your honorable foundation, providing an accessible consistency and further, articulation of your principles is an important part of building this consistent foundation, one that your opponents will depend upon as they dance the fight with you. - Code
Warrior’ codes exist for very good reasons. Again consistency is vital here. Your code need not be copied, begged, borrowed. It can mirror your boundaries and principles, serve as a mnemonic to remind you of them. The code exists so that you know what your rules are, so that you have rules to think of when you are in the heat of rage. The worst news for your opponents is if your anger makes you unreasonable. An unreasonable opponent is one who gets avoided after the first encounter. As an activist, you want to develop long-term relationships with folks you fight with. A lack of a code can lead to a lack of principles and consistency and a lack of audience, which as an activist is something you absolutely cannot afford. - Commitment
Closely related to boundaries, code, principles, loyalty, commitment is part of your offering of consistency. Once you commit to engage in a fight, stay. Allow your opponent to seek closure with you if it is eir wont. Even if you win a great victory, commit to the fight, commit to remain engaged and when you withdraw, do it honorably, intentionally. - Loyalty
Loyalty to the cause, to your allies, to your opponent (see commitment above), to the greater world – all are important and contribute to the previous principles of least harm, compassion, mercy. Be loyal not only to your cause, to the fight, but to the world’s greater health and wealth. Remain oriented not only to your local activist community, but also to as much of the world as you can imagine. - Integrity
Do these things: Keep promises, stand up for what you believe, stand up for punishment/reprisal you’ve earned. Remain committed even if you are uncomfortable, even if you are caught out. If you’re strong enough to be a warrior, you are strong enough to stand up to discomfort you are involved in. Show your integrity. Make it a priority, keep it important. - Sacrifice
Part of honor is sacrifice. It’s not only personal sacrifice with respect to discomfort and martial discipline, but about the world, the greater community that you swim in, that you fight for or against. Pay your debts by sacrificing your comfort. Sacrifice your comfort at the end of a fight, even one that you won, to make sure that your opponent still finds you reasonable. Sacrifice things that do not impinge on other good aspects of your honor, of your integrity as a warrior.
It’s difficult to bear all of this responsibility, especially if you can’t talk about it in public. But being a warrior is not all sweetness and light. You have responsibility to yourself, to your community, to your world, to your opponent. All of this is represented by your honor (among other principles). To talk about it, find someone you can trust, who’s close and speak with them if you need to.
But don’t make other people bear responsibility for your honor.
Especially not your opponent(s). They’ll not thank you.