The Path of the Dragon

The Path of the Dragon
Honor, Duty and Dignity

In this life we all choose a path. Some of us follow trails already blazed by others. Some choose to deny they follow any road at all. A select few carve their own roads through life and live by these new ideas against all opposition. No matter how you may see your life, and no matter how others my see your path, you alone must walk it and in this mans belief the greatest sin one can commit is to deny that you walk at all. We live one life and we must live it until its final breath, there is no other way. This essay is an attempt to codify my walk that others may choose to walk the same trails I have forged. This is no easy journey; there are no grand secrets, though one may find great treasures along the way. There are no commandments; though one may find a set of rules that cannot be denied. Here you will find no gods to worship, or pass your responsibilities off to. Here you will find no demons to blame your short comings on. There is personal responsibility, there is true friendship, there is love and hatred in equal measure, there is peace and there will be war. There is balance and in the end you will only be judged by how you have lived.

The idea is a brotherhood of men and women who find that the morally corrupt systems we have burdened ourselves with are lacking and no longer worthy of our devotion. We have decided to shrug off the weight of these systems of old morals that no longer see the people that keep them in existence. We have made a choice to leave behind the old diseased and rotting systems and forge anew a path that demands you stand and be true. Honor, duty and dignity are our watch words and on these we stand and shall not be moved.

Why the Dragon?

Dragons are mythical creatures that have been found in every great culture around the world. Each people have seen this being in a different light. In Christian Europe it is seen as a creature of darkness that must be destroyed by their warriors of light. In the Orient it was seen as a guardian and guide. In India it is equated with the path to enlightenment, in Norse mythology a great beast of battle. One thing that has always remained the same is that Dragons are great beasts of power. From the ability to cause massive havoc, to control of the weather, to a great benevolence providing man with gifts of power and knowledge the dragon plays a large part in the myths that have created many of the beliefs we have today the dragon has never been pined down as one thing. As Draconians we are taking this mantle that says we will not be held up as one thing judged and said to be this and nothing else. We are thinking beings and we have the ability and right to give or take as we see fit within our own lives. The draconian is strength and power according to our ability.

Honor, Duty, Dignity?

There are a great many other words that could be used here as a group motto. But I believe that these three cover all the necessary bases. No need to have ten, or four when three will do. Let’s examine each in its turn first as described and defined in Wickipedia and then examined from the draconian perspective.

Honour or honor (see spelling differences), (the latter directly from the Latin word honos, honoris) is the evaluation of a person's trustworthiness and social status based on that individual's espousals and actions. Honour is deemed exactly what determines a person's character: whether or not the person reflects honesty, respect, integrity, or fairness. Accordingly, individuals are assigned worth and stature based on the harmony of their actions, code of honour, and that of the society at large. Honor can be analysed as a relativistic concept, i.e., conflicts between individuals and even cultures arising as a consequence of material circumstance and ambition, rather than fundamental differences in principle. Alternatively, it can be viewed as nativist — that honour is as real to the human condition as love, and likewise derives from the formative personal bonds that establish one's personal dignity and character.
Dr Samuel Johnson, in his A Dictionary of the English Language (1755), defined honour as having several senses, the first of which was "nobility of soul, magnanimity, and a scorn of meanness." This sort of honour derives from the perceived virtuous conduct and personal integrity of the person endowed with it. On the other hand, Johnson also defined honour in relationship to "reputation" and "fame"; to "privileges of rank or birth", and as "respect" of the kind which "places an individual socially and determines his right to precedence." This sort of honour is not so much a function of moral or ethical excellence, as it is a consequence of power. Finally, with respect to women, honour may be synonymous with "chastity" or "virginity".

Honor is a moral stance to be upright and firm in your belief and to never waver. To this dragon honor is the foundation of your life. To be honorable is to be firm but also understanding if not accepting of the fools. You have a path and a place you have chosen in this world and to stray from it every time the wind blows is a dishonorable act. To make a commitment and shift from it is an act of dishonor. To even make a commitment you have no intention of keeping is dishonorable. You should have the strength to be honest no matter the consequences of your actions this is honorable.

Duty (from "due," that which is owing, O. Fr. deu, did, past participle of devoir; Lat. debere, debitum; cf. "debt") is a term that conveys a sense of moral commitment to someone or something. The moral commitment is the sort that results in action, and it is not a matter of passive feeling or mere recognition. When someone recognizes a duty, that person commits himself/herself to the cause involved without considering the self-interested courses of actions that may have been relevant previously. This is not to suggest that living a life of duty precludes one from the best sort of life, but duty does involve some sacrifice of immediate self-interest.
Cicero is an early philosopher who acknowledged this possibility. He discusses duty in his work “On Duty." He suggests that duties can come from four different sources:
It is a result of being human
It is a result of one's particular place in life (your family, your country, your job)
It is a result of one's personality
One's own moral expectations for yourself can generate duties
From the root idea of obligation to serve or give something in return, involved in the conception of duty, have sprung various derivative uses of the word; thus it is used of the services performed by a minister of a church, by a soldier, or by any employee or servant.

Many schools of thought have debated the idea of duty. While many assert mankind's duty on their own terms, some philosophers have absolutely rejected a sense of duty.

Duty is your obligation to your honor and those you choose to have in your life. If you call someone your friend then you have a duty to be that person’s friend. This is not to say that because of your duty to this person that friendship can never be dissolved. This individual also has an equal duty to be your friend and you are under no obligation to continue with a dishonorable person who has no sense of duty to you. This is why I have chosen duty, it is a two way street. Honor is your responsibility, but duty is reciprocal.

Through much of the twentieth century, Dignity appeared in assorted writings as a reason for peacemaking and for promoting human rights. For example, The Universal Declaration of Human Rights, adopted by the United Nations General Assembly on December 10, 1948, speaks in its preamble of “the inherent dignity and of the equal and inalienable rights of all members of the human family.” Later proclamations speak of Dignity in the same way. The American Convention on Human Rights (1969), art. 11(1), proclaims, “Everyone has the right to have his honor respected and his dignity recognized.” The African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights (1981), art. 5, insists, “Every individual shall have the right to the respect of the dignity inherent in a human being.”
In the latter half of the twentieth century, Dignity became a reason to curtail genetic research and to regulate human reproduction. In 1996, the Council of Europe used Dignity for this purpose in its Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Dignity of the Human Being with regard to the Application of Biology and Medicine. In 1998, the United Nations mentioned Dignity in the UNESCO Declaration on the Human Genome and Human Rights. At Article 24, the Declaration says that germ-line treatment “could be contrary to human dignity.” The Commentary which accompanies the Declaration says that, as a consequence of the possibility of germ-line treatment, “it is the very dignity of the human race which is at stake.”
As a rule, the writings about Dignity leave it undefined or fill it with ambiguity and contradiction.[1] All the international proclamations leave Dignity undefined.[2]
Many writings imply that having dignity means being human and alive. [3] If having dignity means being human and alive, then Dignity is equal to just because as a reason for anything. It is an unassailable, all-purpose authority. Anyone can use it to support or to condemn any cause or activity.[4] See the external links below.
At least since the time of Shakespeare, Dignity has meant the set of attributes that distinguish an intelligent, solemn, sober, healthy, independent, adult homo sapiens (the model adult) from someone else, especially a young child or a lunatic.[5] This definition gives dignity a worthwhile meaning. It provides for degrees of dignity. The definition makes Dignity the rare quality which, as Thurber noted, "has gleamed only now and then and here and there, in lonely splendor, throughout the ages, a hope of the better men, never an achievement of the majority."[6]

Dignity is your spiritual appearance. Your unseen presence is your sense of dignity. This is the manifestation of your honor and duty. Your dignity can be lost but it can never be taken from you. You can allow another to strip you of your dignity or you can lie it at another mans feet, but it is always your choice. Even in the worst of circumstances when all else seems lost to you can keep your dignity. If you choose to be cowardly and craven you loose your dignity. If you choose to face your adversity with your honor and duty in tact your dignity will never be lost to you.

With these things in mind go off into the world, continue your life and keep your eyes open. See where there is still Honor, Duty, and Dignity in the world, and see how often these things are ignored, lost and handed over. See how those in positions of power and responsibility choose to behave like animals rather than men. See how our military will train our men to kill a people but not respect them. See how our churches will teach our priests and ministers the laws of god but not require them to be upright citizens. See how many of the blind followers and adherents’ will forgive their leaders gross misconduct out of fear that their foundations will be shaken. I say shake them because without our Honor, Duty and Dignity we are little more than the walking dead.
So Says the King