What Duty, Honor, Country Means to Me

Duty, honor, country — those are three words that build every individual’s basic character. It molds us for our future and strengthens us when we are weak, helping us to be brave and to face our fears even when we are afraid. It teaches us to have pride in our good work but to also stay humble in success, encouraging us to stay formidable even through failure. It reminds us to seek challenges rather than seeking our comfort, making us face the stress and difficulties with the compassion of reaching for a higher goal.

Duty means being accountable for what we think, what we say, and what we do. It involves working on our characteristics and developing our skills instead of relying on an outside source to take responsibility of different circumstances or situations. We abide by our duties by designing our lives in ways that acknowledge our personal value and purpose. By doing so, we demonstrate our willingness to uphold the standards that are established concerning our behavior and that we are making an effort to live by those standards. At the same time, we also own up to the consequences of our actions than looking for an outside factor to blame.

Having honor means being true to one’s personal ideals and being a person of integrity. Honor is the estimation of our self-value in the eyes of society and our peers. It is not only a symbol of pride but also of worthiness established through the respect of our peers. Anyone that is honorable is valued by the eyes of the people surrounding them. However, that does not mean that anyone with the lack thereof is considered irrelevant or unimportant, because some people may see an individual as someone honorable while others might not. It is a matter of proving ourselves worthy.

A country does not only offer us a home but also gives us freedom. It offers us a place to pledge allegiance, to protect, and to serve. It allows us the ability to honor those that have sacrificed their lives for it. It gives the hard-working soldiers a reason for their battle scars and lets them protect, guard, and defend the traditions of liberty, freedom, right, and justice. And above all else, it gives each and every one of us our identity.

To conclude the essay, duty, honor, country are words that embrace those of the highest moral laws. It tells us who we are, who we can be, and who we should be: it defines us. This I know, and although those three words may hold a different meaning to others, that is what it means to me. 

Works Cited

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5. Eisenhower, D. D. (1961). Farewell Address. Retrieved from https://avalon.law.yale.edu/20th_century/eisenhower001.asp
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7. Jefferson, T. (1774). A Summary View of the Rights of British America. Retrieved from https://avalon.law.yale.edu/18th_century/jeffsumm.asp
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10. Sherman, F. D. (1990). Duty, Honor, Country: A Novel of West Point & the Civil War. Ballantine Books.