How Honor Has Changed Over Time

Honor has always been a central aspect of one’s identity. People go great lengths to keep and prove their honor. Honor is a popular topic that is regularly seen throughout literature, but what exactly is honor? Honor today is seen as one’s integrity and protecting one’s values and beliefs. But it has not always been that way. Honor is a difficult concept to characterize due to the fact that the definition of honor has changed over time and varies from culture to culture. In past times, honor was very different from that of today.
The definition of honor has modified over time due to change in culture and time itself. In the past, honor was often a popular topic and that can be seen throughout the poems and plays of past writers. In the blog,
The Art of Manliness, it states, “The epic poems of Homer are primarily about honor and man’s quest to achieve and maintain it. If you read Shakespeare’s plays with a close eye, you’ll find that honor and manhood take center stage as reoccurring themes” (The Art of Manliness). The theme of honor reoccurs throughout the works of Homer and Shakespeare. Homer and William Shakespeare both lived hundreds of years ago, Shakespeare in more recent times than Homer, but the theme of honor still occurs in both which covers a span of hundreds of years. In the past, honor was associated with men and their quests and fights to achieve that honor. This can also be seen in men of the 17th through 20th centuries that lived in Europe and the United States. The blog, The Art of Manliness, proclaims, “During the 17th and all the way into the early 20th century, upperclass men in Europe and the United States regularly engaged in duels on ‘fields of honor’ to defend their manhood” (The Art of Manliness). Upper class men would duel each other to protect their manhood or honor. These duels occurred in the past and no longer happen in today’s world; this shows that in the past, honor was about finding and protecting your manhood or honor. Honor today looks very different than that of the past.
Honor today is not about defending your manhood; it is now more of a focus on integrity and protecting what you care about. In the blog, The Art of Manliness, it proclaims, “Integrity is the point to which the definition of honor has evolved and what it generally means in our society today” (The Art of Manliness). People now view honor as one’s integrity or the quality of being honest with strong moral principles. The idea of fighting to defend one’s manhood has been put in the backseat; today integrity rides in the front. Going on quests and dueling to defend your manliness is no longer considered honorable. Alongside integrity, protecting one’s beliefs and what they care about is viewed as honorable. In the blog, Community In Mission, blog writer Charles Pope writes, “Our soldiers, police officers, and first responders are deserving of our honor, for they put their lives on the line so that others can live, be more free, and experience abundance” (Pope). Those men and women who risk their lives and work to make their country better are seen as honorable in the eyes of today’s society. The glasses that are looked through, to determine what is honorable, have different lens than that of the past. Honor in societies today is seen as defending one’s beliefs and cares rather than defending their manliness or manhood. Modern day honor shares many resemblances with America honor.
American honor is similar to the honor of many other countries and cultures throughout the world.
Those men and women who serve their country and risk their lives are once again placed upon the pedestal of honor. This can be seen in General MacArthur’s speech to the cadets of the U.S. Military Academy upon receiving the Sylvanus Thayer Award, he proclaims, “Their story is known to all of you. It is the story of the American man-at-arms. My estimate of him was formed on the battlefield many, many years ago, and has never changed. I regarded him then, as I regard him now, as one of the world's noblest figures; not only as one of the finest military characters, but also as one of the most stainless” (General MacArthur's Thayer Award Speech -- Duty, Honor, Country (1962)). Regarding American soldiers during WWII, General of the Army Douglas MacArthur speaks of their heroism and calls them the world’s noblest people. Because of their dedication and acts of heroism, American soldiers are viewed as some of the most honorable men and women in the world. Alongside American soldiers, firefighters are also viewed as honorable for their work. This can be seen in a blog post by Patrick Bet-David titled “The 10 Most Honorable Professions.” Patrick Bet-David states, “ Firefighters don’t do it for the money or glory; they do it because they are driven to save the lives and livelihoods of other people” (Bet-David). Firefighters do not serve others for the money or recognition; they serve
others because they care about the lives of other people. Because of their crucial job and willingness to perform it, American firefighters are also considered some of the most honorable people in America. Occupations that have similar roles to that of firefighters, such as police officers, are also respected and viewed as honorable. Modern American culture has shaped the way honor is seen in America. Culture also place a big role in other societies’ view of honor.
The culture of a society determines what is considered honorable.
Cultures across the world vary from place to place which results in different definitions of honor throughout the world. One example of a culture influencing honor can be seen in the kamikaze pilots of Japan during WWII. In a blog post, “The last kamikaze: two Japanese pilots tell how they cheated death,” from the blog theguardian, kamikaze pilot Hisao Horiyama says, “Even if we were to die, we knew it was for a worthy cause. Dying was the ultimate fulfillment of our duty, and we were commanded not to return” (McCurry). Kamikaze pilots knew that by their death, they were fulfilling their ultimate duty to their country. These pilots, like soldiers, willingly gave their lives in the pursuit of protecting their country, but the end result was their death by suicide. Suicide in other cultures is not considered an honorable death, which is a good example of how culture influences the definition of honor. But some argue that culture does not influence the definition of honor. However, culture does influence honor and this can be seen by the numerous different views of honor based on the values and needs of a society. Examples of this range from 17th century men dueling to defend their manhood and honor to the kamikaze pilots who sacrifice themselves to fight for their country. In America itself, the cultural values of society have shifted from defending one’s self to defending one’s country. This results in honor
lying in those who serve their country rather than those who only serve themselves. In all times and places, culture has played an enormous role in shaping the mold that produces honor.
The definition of honor has greatly changed over time and varies from culture to culture. Honor today looks a lot different than it did in the past. In America today, honor resides in those who serve and protect their country. It also resides in those who work to make America a safer and better place. Generally speaking, honor is difficult to characterize because it changes over time and varies throughout the different cultures of the world. Even though the definition of honor has been modified, honor will always be a crucial aspect of society.