The Dog's Name

Translated by
Dr. Henry "Indiana" Jones, Jnr
Monday, July 24, 2006

On the battle ground that was Thermopylae there stand two monuments, testament to the sacrifice made there in 480BC, the older of the two, is a simple unadorned and weathered stone engraved the words of the poet Simonides:

Go tell the Spartans, stranger passing by,
that here, obedient to their laws, we lie.

In the middle of what many regard as the cradle of western civilization lies a monument to duty, obligation and the belief in keeping one’s word unto even the gravest sacrifice…death. And while few occupations or even promises given require such commitment, it was with something akin to disgust that I read Admin’s post on, what I would term the cowardly choice, and the breaking of two oaths by a British Army doctor.

Now I am not climbing out onto the limb to support war, least of all a war for something as commercial as oil rights, and regardless of your stance on the current undertakings in Iraq, I do take umbrage that someone who volunteered for such service, swearing such would at the hour of need back down. This is doubly compounded when, as Admin pointed out, his action also breaks his Hippocratic Oath as a doctor to render aide. But probably for me the most pathetic part of the whole story was, the last I checked, the arm forces of Great Britain are volunteer, he wasn’t conscripted he made a choice to join the Army…I mean it is the Army, and Britain is at war…I have to wonder how the fuck he ever made it through Medical-School with foresight so well developed.

But all this got me thinking about duty, obligation and integrity...

“Simply let your 'Yes' be 'Yes,' and your 'No,' 'No'…”
Matthew, Ch 5:37

I am a big believer in keeping your word, even sometimes if you don't want too, unless you have given your word to do something wrong then maybe you should reconsider, but I agree "yes should equal yes" if you agree to something then your personal feelings don't really play into it...unless the agreement breaks some higher moral code...if you agree to something you should carry through...I think this is important because it establishes so much about one's character and the level of trust you can have for someone. If a person cannot keep their own word, if they don’t respect themselves enough to do that, how can you expect them to respect you enough to be honest with you, to honor your confidence, and honor you as a friend or even a lover?

Which means either sometimes one just needs to get better at saying no to things you know are not for you, or saying yes to the things that are...in the end, it's about being true to yourself, and having that oft hard to describe thing, character.

When you make your bed I believe you lay in it. So what is your word worth?

Technorati Tag: The Dogs Name, Wisdom, Yes or No, Your Word

Lectiones Sacrae Ex Libris Indiana 06:00

5 Comments:

Scorpy said...: I really need to buy 'The gates of fire'.I admire the Spartans on so many levels (there are many that I don't agree with, but...)the single greatest strength of their city state was their bond of loyalty and their oath to each other. Spartan mothers issued their sons with their sheilds and a these words "...with it or without it"... in other words "Bring back this shield yourself or be brought back upon it". My word is my bond and I expect the same from anyone else, especially in the services...but then again I think the same should be held in marriage and relationships. It is too easy for people to walk away...they need to honour their committment and carry out whatever needs to be done to resolve the issue. Walking away without fighting for it is like laying down your sheild.....; 06:25
lucy said...: God there's Herodotus quotes flying all over the place, I admired the Spartans, especially the battle of Thermopylae. I think the curling their hair before battle may have been a bit odd for a warrior race though.

I believe (in a very wanky tragic way) that sometimes all a person has is their word. So I try to ensure promises and declarations have meaning.; 09:52
Indiana said...: Scorpy: Some people just allow their lives to be ruled by fear, they are to scared or maybe too cowardly to really live and honor committments and keep their word. And if we are honest too many people like the "instant, drive-through, microwave" life in which everything is easy and simple...the idea of fighting for things of value is an idea sadly lacking in this modern world.

Lucy: All you are is your word...everything else are trappings of a societal based success system...if you cannot give and then keep your word you are not really worth the time and effort that people give you.; 23:56
~ good girl ~ said...: I'll have to admit I have mixed feelings about this. I've read Admin's post twice and mulled over it as best a giddy chit can. Without going into details, my end thought was this - faced with different oaths, which one do we choose? And do we ever make, consciously or otherwise, oaths that run counter to those we've already pledged ourselves to, even to the littlest degree? I can imagine many do, albeit without realising it most of the time.

As Admin had mentioned, the discharged officer had an allegiance to his own word/beliefs too, just as the Army oath and the Hippocratic oath are likewise his beliefs. At the end of the day, by whatever benchmark and parameters he measures himself by, he chose. Perhaps, he chose the one he could most live with.

That said, he'd forgotten to consider that when signing up with the army, we don't always fight wars we believe in, wars that would fit perfectly with who and what we are. He must have known this and he did it anyway. I suppose, in that vein, you could say he was not a man of his word - he pledged allegiance to something he could not possibly believe in completely. Informed choices, we sometimes how important "informed" is.

My word is my bond. And it should never be easily given, in matters both great and small. You could say my word is a reflection of what I believe in and any contradiction to my word undermines these beliefs, and ultimately, who I am.

GG; 00:39
Dusty Admin said...: I've already posted on this one as you've said but I thought I'd point out that he's not Army.... he's a Crab (i.e. - Air Farce).

Sorry, Scorps!; 04:37