Charlie Collins Portrait
Charles A. Collins

About the Honor Blog

This blog has been created for the purpose of exploring controversial moral problems, using the concepts explored in The Book of Honor as a foundation. Since it seeks to tackle difficult problems, readers should approach it with serious minds and should expect to have their prejudices challenged. However, an element which is central to The Book of Honor is that there are things upon which all normal humans will agree. This blog seeks out those things - it focuses on areas of agreement, rather than disagreement, so that the discussion can remain positive even in the face of serious disagreements.

The Gratiae

One of the most important conclusions reached in The Book of Honor is that acting in a good and moral way means giving value to other persons. The things which represent that value are called the gratiae, and in The Book of Honor, we learn there are three of those things:
Vitality,
Liberty, and
Dignity.

Good actions are those which support human life, which recognize the freedom and dignity of other persons. Immoral, evil actions are those which deprive persons of their lives, deny them their freedom, and/or destroy their dignity.

The Virtues

The purpose of The Book of Honor is to establish a code of conduct, a set of factors which will guide persons toward honorable behavior. Those factors are summarized in the form of seven Virtues:
Wisdom,
Courage,
Compassion,
Discipline,
Industry,
Hope, and
Humility.

These Virtues are used to guide honorable behavior; a person who considers and applies the Virtues when making decisions, when taking action, will serve the gratiae - and act in a good, moral way.

About the Author

Hopefully most of your questions about me are answered by the About page. However, within the context of this blog, I think it also is important for me to point out that:

Inevitably, controversial subjects will touch upon the political arena. There is no way to remove all bias from a discussion - so I believe the best thing I can do is to let you know that I am Catholic, and inclined toward conservatism.

Previous Posts


Jan 16, 2022: Un-Masking Motivations

Sep 22, 2021: Thalidomide

Apr 4, 2021: Escaping Politics

Aug 31, 2020: Handling Embarrassing Flaws

Jun 19, 2020: A Sign of Sickness in Education

May 10, 2020: Noble Self-Sacrifice

The Honor Blog

Today is: Apr 3, 2025
Post From: Aug 31, 2020

Handling Embarrassing Flaws

A couple of weeks ago, I heard a story about King George VI of England, who was the British monarch when World War II began. The story had to do with one of George's weak points, which was that he had a stutter.

Stuttering is a very difficult condition for a child to work through. It is an embarrassing thing and opens the child up to mockery from his peers. It takes a lot of hard work to overcome that sort of thing - both physical work and emotional work.

The importance of that flaw to the story was that when Britain decided to enter the war, it fell upon George to make a radio address which would be broadcast across the entire British Empire, which at that time spanned the globe. The moment required him to be firm, confident, resolute - and not to stutter.

Knowing this, George worked hard with his speech coach to ensure that he would be able to deliver his address in the manner his people needed. After long hours of practice, he gave the address and it went very well. His speech coach reportedly said that he had done very well, though there had been a couple of wavers. To which George replied, ``Well, I wanted to make sure they knew it was me.''

I think that is a wonderful and instructive answer. For one thing, it shows a sense of humor - the ability to laugh, especially about personal things, is really important. More than that, though, it shows a great deal of wisdom, because it reflects the recognition that our flaws are part of us - and that they really do not lessen us.

One of the defining conditions of the human experience is insecurity. We all fear rejection, exclusion - we all want to connect with other people, to be accepted. And one of the most painful things a person can face is the reality that a flaw, an imperfection, might get in the way of that acceptance.

This is true at every age, for every person. However, I teach at an all-girls' high school, and I think we should be able to agree that this type of insecurity is particularly difficult for girls that age. Generally speaking, women place a higher degree of importance on relationships, and they also have a stronger tendency to weigh small and subtle relationship cues.

In response to those worries, it is common for people to work to hide their flaws. Failing that, they work to silence people who would recognize those differences. In essence, they lose their sense of humor. Fearing criticism, fearing that it might signal a lack of acceptance, people attack anyone who notices flaws in others.

The bit of wisdom we can draw from that anecdote about George is that it is a mistake to deny your flaws - and far worse to attack those who notice them, even in criticism and mockery. A far wiser course of action is to embrace them. When you do, you learn that they do not exclude you from acceptance, they do not lessen your value. Indeed, they make other people more accepting and supporting.