“Biar putih tulang, jangan putih mata.”
“Death before dishonour.”
Those are familiar quotes but do you not feel that in this time and age, such quotes are becoming meaningless? Or am I being cynical?
What price honour? That has become a more valid question instead. How much do you think your honour costs? How far would you go before you cross that line?
A couple of years back, when I still live in hope that honour and integrity exist in this world, I was shocked to discover among my friends, that given the right price, honour and integrity can become easily tradable commodities. It was a disturbing thought but it made me reflect ... and the conclusion (?), you be the judge.
My friends and I had a heated discussion about under table money and how prevalent it is in society. One friend said that the opportunity is aplenty in the banking line and the temptation is too great sometimes. And he went on to say, given the right price, he might take the under table money. I was totally speechless for awhile and clearly voiced my disappointment and disapproval at his integrity or lack thereof; perhaps because I knew these guys since university days and I thought or expected that their values of honour and integrity are similar to mine. What a lofty and arrogant thought then … as if I was infallible and my standards are so bloody high. It was safe to say that the conversation did not end on a good note.
Then on another occasion, I was discussing the concept of “sinning” with a Christian friend and she told me that, a sin is a sin. There is no such thing as a big sin or a small sin. Now, you might ask where I am going with this line of thought. Bear with me for a moment. Let’s be honest with ourselves, have we not paid “bribes” in our entire life? Small “bribes” for little traffic offences perhaps or to pass our driving test or ….
Now, put the thought of bribes and under table money together and apply it to the concept of sinning, where does that leave us with our integrity and honour? Not a very comfortable thought, is it? I am not saying I condone taking or giving under table money. What I am saying is that people who live in glass houses should not cast the first stone.
A friend once told me that two wrongs do not make a right. While I agree with him in principle, … it also brought to mind a movie that I watched. It’s about a prosecutor trying to bring to justice a dangerous criminal who had murdered many times but always managed to escape due to a loophole in the system. Finally, he was caught but for a crime he did not commit. Ironically, witnesses have placed him at the crime scene and he was implicated and sentenced to death. While the prosecutor knew this, he went ahead and prosecuted. Many would agree that the prosecutor did the right thing. After all, this guy was a murderer. But the fact remains that he did not commit this crime. Thus, in the matter of integrity, the prosecutor failed to dispense his duty with honour. Under such circumstances, does two wrongs (or more) make a right? What’s your verdict?
Unfortunately, we do not live in a world of black and white. We deal with shades of grey in our every day life. What seems wrong to you and me might seem right to another. The question is how far do we go before we compromise our honour and integrity? Unfortunately there is no hard and fast rule. And I have no answer to that. To me, it’s quite simple. The day I wake up and hate what I see in the mirror, is the day that I have crossed the line. Then again, people without conscience might not even “look” at the mirror. It’s all very subjective isn’t it? Who says life is easy?
So, what price your honour?
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6 comments:
The formula goes:
Price of Honour / Fear = (Price of Security and Survival - Price of Basic Needs)
In other words, Price of Honour is totally dependent on the "conditions of life" of a person. Therefore, life is about getting your equation balanced. There is no fixed price at all.
Hmmm ... interesting equation but I dig.
Cheers!
If your ethical nature tells you its wrong and against your principles, simple....DONT DO IT!!End of the day you hold yourself responsible for your own actions. We all know we cant control anything that goes beyond our limitations. Iranian proverb: "The joys of life comes from a pure innocent conscience."
Not meant to offend the woman readers and feminists, just to give an easier example.
Once a famous rich man said that "all women are prostitutes, it is just a matter to sell to one man at a time, one man life time, or many men at all times".
and since gigolos or ducks are now exist in our society I think that statement applies to the men too.
Everything is available for sale when the price is right.
Just to add on to the above comment. Where there is demand, there will be supply. And since all women are prostitutes, all men must be gigolos then.
In this case, the person who creates the demand is more dishonourable. After all, if he did not create the demand, there would be no supply. And the people who supply are often victims of circumstances.
And if we are actually talking about prostitution, many got into the oldest profession due to desperation or force. Thus, the people who make the most money out of these are the middleman / person.
In conclusion, I would say the dishonour should lie at the feet of the middleman and the demand creator. But alas, the supplier is the unfortunate one who pays the price of dishonour.
Lessons in shades of grey ladies and gentlemen.
The price of honor comes with the notion that every men has conscience. Immanuel Kant in his categorical imperratives says that (in a nut shell) it is imperrative that we follow our conscience when it is being disturb.
Selective perception, retention and exposure which deals with our perception then is different from everyone else.
Then going back to Kant, the question of what values do we assign ourselves to when it comes to honor.
It is honorable that we kill our daughters and wives if they are caught interacting with people from the opposite sex (Arab culture).
It is honorable that we send and disown our own daughters when they are found to be pretty and promiscuious, send them to the Magdeline convents (Ireland)
To some people that these thoughts are unbeliverably stupid and old fashion.
What price is honor one might ask? Take a look the honorable discharges and dishonorable discharges in the US Army. Again, if someone is caught flauting the law, then they will be dishonorably discharged.
Then most of the ethics we learned has a judeo-christian roots which is the principle of self-determination. Do unto others what you do not want others to do unto you.
An enforcement officer has a totally different view on receiving gifts from people!
Until now, I still am skeptical about what honor is. Until then, Immanuel Kant has the answers which is following your consciences!
Cheers!
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