THREE HALLOWED WORDS: DUTY – HONOR – COUNTRY
One day couple of weeks ago I was sitting and reading Douglas MacArthur’s May 12, 1962 farewell speech at West Point. The speech was very detailed and long but I wanted to pull out of his speech the main points that Duty, Honor and Country means as he explained it and perceived by me.
Stephen R. Henninger: October 27, 2007
What you want to be, what you can be, what you will be:
They build courage
They regain faith
They create hope
They build character
They make you strong when you are weak
They make you brave when you are afraid
They teach you to be proud and honest
They teach you to be humble and gentle
They teach you not to substitute words for actions
They teach you not to seek the path of comfort
They teach you to face the stress of difficulty
They teach you to face the challenge
They teach you to stand up in the storm
They teach you to have compassion
They teach you to master yourself before you seek to master others
They teach you to have a heart that is clean
They teach you to have a goal that is high
They teach you to laugh
They teach you to weep
They teach you to reach for the future
They teach you never to neglect the past
They teach you to be serious
They teach you not to take yourself seriously
They teach you to be modest
They will teach you to be open minded
They teach you the meekness of true strength
They give you a temperate will
They give you a quality of imagination
They give you vigor of emotions
They give you a freshness of life
They give you courage
They give you an appetite for adventure
They give you a sense of wonder
They give you unfailing hope
They give you the joy and inspiration of life
General Douglas MacArthur: May 12, 1962
Duty is defined as being that social force that binds one to the courses of action that binds one to that force. Duty is also that desired ingredient of a person’s character which impels that person to act in all situations equally and without prejudice to the consequences.
Honor is that pureness of character whereby a person’s given word may be taken at face value and as the truth on any given circumstance.
The definition of Country in the context used is simply a dedication to the ideals and philosophy of Government that Nation-State embraces. Included are the geographical boundaries of that Nation-State.
Author: Billy H. Adams, Santiago