Honor is what it is all about.
The Conversation of the Trees
Stribling Walk was enshrouded by the veil of nighttime. The crickets were playing their sonorous symphonies for audiences unseen. A palpable darkness enveloped everything. I walked down that ancient red brick path from study hall and it all seemed especially eerie. The feeling sank into the depths of my being and consumed me. The impression might have come from the age of the path I tread. Or perhaps it was an awareness of the millions of lives affected by others who had walked this same path. Maybe it was simply that I was tired and passing in and out of a dreamy state of mind. But whatever the reason, my senses were sharpened to my surroundings.
I noticed the texture of the sidewalk, the humid Chesapeake air, and the sound of my steps in the silence. I looked up at the cathedral-like canopy of leaves hung from the outstretched arms of the trees and I imagined them as old men, bony and gaunt with age, still diligently performing a task they were given before time began. Considering these wizened sages, I wondered, "If you could talk, what conversations would you have with one another? What would be the subject of your discourse?"
Then, even as the questions formed in my mind, I began to hear in the shivering of their leaves a code, a language of communication. Like a radioman hearing some forbidden message from a foreign country intended only for privileged ears, I began to decipher the conversation of the trees.
At first, it was an unintelligible whisper, too faint to hear. Then the wind picked up a little and I could hear it very well. Their conversation consisted of a single word, "honor." At first I wasn't sure I heard correctly. Surely these trees have not spent their hundreds of years talking only about honor! Of many important topics in life, to dwell on only one seemed absurdly limited. The objections continued to rise in my mind. There are uncounted issues to be resolved. They must focus on those as well, correct? But it came again, more loudly,"HONOR."
Their persistence won out. I pondered, "Is there unique wisdom in this singular focus? After all, they have had a long time to dwell on many different things and they affirmatively settled on this one. Perhaps there is a reason." And then it came to me. I realized that here, at the Naval Academy, these trees are special. They know what it takes to be a leader. They have seen many leaders. They know what it means to follow truly great men. They have seen many followers. They know what must be done to live life so that, at the end of it, one may lie down unashamed. They have known well those who reached that point. As we walk this path, the trees evaluate each of us by our commitment to honor, and they record the measurement. Each Midshipman is considered, weighed, and judged as to whether he or she fulfills this highest of all virtues. They evaluate carefully, make their judgments, and their judgments are correct.
As I entered T-court, one question remained, "What about me?"
Written by a Midshipman
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Exar you are getting a reputation as a sea lawyer already. There is still time to realize that just because others got away with it does not mean it is right.