Patriotic honor

Call me a nerd if you will, but I’ve recently been leafing through Alexis de Tocqueville’s “Democracy in America,” in which the French political thinker observes that, in America, morals count for a lot, while honor counts for relatively little. I suppose I began to notice a few years ago how poor was our sense of honor, and on the eve of tomorrow’s “Support the Troops” rally, this disheartening memory comes back to me with some force. \nEnrolled in a moral philosophy course, one of the first quandaries for the class to resolve ran like this: A British district officer, Gen. Sir Charles Napier, coming upon a scene of “sati” – the tradition of burning widows alive on the funeral pyres of their husbands – was told by the locals to respect the customs of Hindu culture. He riposted that in British culture it was the custom to hang chaps who did that sort of thing. The officer proposed the following multicultural solution: “Build your funeral pyre; beside it, my carpenters will build a gallows. You may follow your custom. And then we will follow ours.”\nA consensus soon formed that the liberal imperialists were in the wrong – positive proof that de Tocqueville had been correct to detect a denigration of honor. One student after another chastised the British for their “judgmentalism.” Judgmental about burning defenseless women? How uncouth! \nIt’s impossible to recall this without concluding that we harbor precious little of the raw self-confidence that the British once brandished in spades. Do you support the troops? It’s hard to find anyone who doesn’t. But one reliable measure of a civilized society is when language retains its meaning. And this evasive slogan means very little, which is why – like all such propaganda – almost everyone can be expected to register their consent. \nBut ask servicemen and women today what support they have had from the fainthearted “anti-war” faction and they won’t detain you for long. Fundamental to supporting the troops is the notion that one contingently supports the worthiness of the mission. So the next time you hear someone subjectively “supporting the troops,” inquire what form that takes objectively.\nAlso be prepared, dear reader, to confront that question yourself: What have you done to advance the cause for which our embattled warriors stand sentry? \nThat cause now lies in a precarious balance, it is true. But nothing can smother its honor – and this vital recognition prepares all of us to enter the arena in a cause for which our forces are giving something like their last full measure of devotion in the heat and burden of battle.\nAnd so dare to ask, after all of the noble heartbreak, the twin questions that still hold our breathless curiosity: Could it be that America’s brand of international patriotism being played out on the ground in Iraq is worthy of our sustained support? And could it be that American power on those burning grounds will soon prove decisive toward both achieving victory and establishing a more resilient sense of national honor?