A Model For Dignity

“All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing.”

Edmund Burke

What is decent behavior?

Judging the quality of the news we like to indulge in there is no more decent behavior.  Hours of talk devoted to the martial infidelities off elected officials, examining the lives of celebrities, and having a no boundaries attitude toward all proclivities seems the rules for civility have vanished. 

Some might argue that these niceties of so-called etiquette were too stifling, too restrictive.   This allows us to be less constraint, freer to explore our human passions and desires. 

Perhaps freer but certainly less honorable, in our quest to this type of self-exposure we have lost the compass to guide us out of the current of our own weakness. We have fewer social norms to follow.  Despite these trends we continue to admire those people who are dignified, those people who exemplify respect, kindness and manners. 

I cannot help but to compare our present fixations with the comic movie “Idiocracy.” The film depicts a future society where anti-intellectualism runs rampant.  In the movie two ordinary people forced into hibernation by a military experiment are awakened 500 years later to discover they are the most brilliant two people on the planet.  A sort of reverse kind of natural selection has reduced intelligence.

I have to wonder; by promoting the intimacies of our private lives will we corrupt ourselves?  Will our children recognize the importance of dignity or will they become like the citizens in the fictional Idiocracy?

As human beings we are all flawed creatures.  Tempted by excesses, ego and indulgence.  It’s the nature of life.  But the opposite is also true.  We are motivated by empathy, wanting to make the world a better place.  Striving to find the balance. 

In order for our children to value these virtues they must be taught, they must experience daily models of dignity.   David Brooks a New York Times columnist wrote that George Washington as a young man copied a list of 110 rules of civility and decent behavior.   These rules were not just etiquette tips but ways to improve morals.   Washington became a great man because of the way he conducted himself during times of temptation.  

That might be our greatest challenge and our greatest reward, how we conduct ourselves during times of temptation.  Instead of degrading the weakness of our heroes we need to celebrate the strengths of ordinary people.  People with dignity don’t need to broadcast their talents they are obvious.  Promoting everyday heroes gives children a real life template to follow and a true compass for an honorable life.