Honor
...y did. Daily life in a nation where nearly 200 million people share only 20 % of the land is to say the least, crowded. To get along with each other there must be cooperation and a give and take among the people. This bushido code did not die with the last of the Samurai. In fact it remains a great part of the Japanese way of life. The new Samurai-the Salary Men- conduct themselves with respect, dignity, and honor. The old “die for master” mentality has been replaced with “honor the company” at all costs. It is this determination and personal honor that helped speed the recovery from WWII, hold the nation together, and propel Japan into the technological age. The price of honor can be great. It can even cost a person his or her life. A brilliant orator by the name of Malcolm X had his world shaken in 1963 when his mentor and the leader of the Nation of Islam was found to have had relations with up to six women within the organization. This was unacceptable and Malcolm refused to remain quite about this deception and hypocrisy. Throughout the following year Malcolm and Elijah Mohammad had numerous conflicts until finally Malcolm left the Nation of Islam to form his own Mosque. It was in this same year when he went on a pilgrimage to Mecca, where his ideas of integration began to change. Calling a blue eyed, blonde haired man his brother was a revelation and nothing at all what he had come to believe in America. He was quite the opposite, in fact he was labeled a militant by most but Malcolm returned to America with a new message-to all the people. On February 21, 1965 during a speech at the Audubon Ballroom 3 men stormed the stage and repeatedly shot Malcolm at close range. At 39 Malcolm X was dead but a leader who stood and spoke with conviction and lived what he preached remains. How honor shaped this Islamic leader’s life is clear; he lived what he preached, and fought for his community. Cesar Chavez was born in 1927 and enjoyed a relatively happy childhood until his tenth birthday. Like many Mexican families, Cesar and his family moved west to follow the crops in California. Despite constant moving he was able to graduate from high school and at the age of 17 entered the Navy. Four years later, now married, his convictions drove him to teach the poor migrant workers how to read and write with the hopes of unifying and standing up to the growers to improve working conditions. As head of the American Farm Worker’s of America union Cesar was jailed repeatedly for striking and even conducted hunger strikes to bring attention to the cause of the farm workers. His fight for social justice has earned him an honorable place in American history. His refusal to back down from the intimidation tactics of the growers, make Cesar Chavez a remarkable man-an honorable man. If honor has a face, it is the face of Superman- Christopher Reeve. An equestrian accident may have robbed him of his movement, but it’s that very thing that has given him the podium from which to reach the world. The strongest of people could have given up and given in. Thrown their arms up in despair, crying out “why me!” and why not? Those who are dealing with paralysis on a daily basis face challenges few could endure. It’s no wonder why depression and sorrow encircle the paralyzed and inundate them with thoughts of gut-wrenching agony. Christopher Reeve however has used this tragedy to propel him into overdrive to find a cure and speak out on behalf of those in similar situations. His devotion to his cause and his unwavering courage show clearly just how honor looks. He inspires. Heroes are made, not born. September 10, 2001 in lower Manhattan was just another day filled with the same events. The people there might have even been characterized as average, or ordinary. All this would change forever in matter of hours. With the horror unfolding early in the morning of the 11th and exact events becoming clearer, those same people shed the “ordinary” to reveal greatness. It was the...