Honor is dishonored when the honor elite behave without virtue.
The general cultural drift in the 20th century away from honor and toward a more self-involved, cynical authenticity comes from the example of WWI when the honor elite fought a meaningless war, a war more about the institutions of honor and national prestige than what would be considered proper national causes.
The folly of the ruling class discredited them, as it did again in Germany and Japan in WWII, and then again in the Vietnam War and the second War in Iraq.
No comments:
Post a Comment