Duty.

The word seems out of place in todays world. As a Cadet, Duty, Honor, Country was drilled into us but it seems like few people today have any sense of it.

My Dad used to have a plaque that read- Do your duty in all things. You can not do more, you should not wish to do less. Years later, I found out that Robert E Lee said that. Pretty ironic when you think that he lead a rebellion that killed hundreds of thousands of Americans.


Do you have a sense of duty? If so, to whom?

Quote: billryan

The word seems out of place in todays world. As a Cadet, Duty, Honor, Country was drilled into us but it seems like few people today have any sense of it.

darn straight! Think of the thousands who lined up to enlist after Winston Churchill, FDR and the Warner brothers had finally drawn America into a foreign war. Then think of all hose who sought deferments for Korea and Vietnam. Look at all those Naval accidents because the emphasis is on promotion, not competence.

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My Dad used to have a plaque that read- Do your duty in all things. You can not do more, you should not wish to do less. Years later, I found out that Robert E Lee said that. Pretty ironic when you think that he lead a rebellion that killed hundreds of thousands of Americans.

He also commanded the federal troops that recovered the weapons stolen from Harper's Ferry. He also participated in the 1826 Eggnog Riot at West Point which invoved knives, guns and clubs.

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Do you have a sense of duty? If so, to whom?

The truth.

My only duty is to my wife. Kids are grown and on their own.

Quote: billryan

The word seems out of place in todays world. As a Cadet, Duty, Honor, Country was drilled into us but it seems like few people today have any sense of it.

My Dad used to have a plaque that read- Do your duty in all things. You can not do more, you should not wish to do less. Years later, I found out that Robert E Lee said that. Pretty ironic when you think that he lead a rebellion that killed hundreds of thousands of Americans.


Do you have a sense of duty? If so, to whom?

Duty is everything. It takes integrity, gratitude, and optimism and wraps it into one neat word. Live up to your best self, and you can look yourself in the mirror every day.

I feel a duty to my country. I served for 25 years as a public servant. It's a never-ending thing, but I am well on my way towards repaying my gratitude to my place of birth.

I feel a duty to my family. In 10 days I will be 11 months into being my mother's primary caregiver. I haven't had a day off since May 21. But she didn't get many days off from me, either, until I left at 17. And I made a deathbed promise to my father to keep her well and in her house. It will be 20 years next month since he passed. So I am doing my duty.

I feel a duty to my friends. One of them is continuing to moderate here. Another is to be an honest bettor, and pay my debts. The rest is too personal to share on a public forum, but duty is a very personal thing.

I feel a duty to make the world a better place. Trite because it's true. I've donated a couple buckets of money to my particular charities, donated thousands of hours in various volunteer efforts, and continue both.

I think duty is best, though it's an individual ethos, as a shared experience. Every effort helps, but it becomes something larger than all of us combined.

So I think it is best developed through Scouting, team sports, group fundraisers, organized charity work. I give special credit to Girl Scouts for my willingness to accept and enjoy performing my duty.

On my honor, I will try, to do my duty,
To God and my country, to help all others, and to obey the Scout Laws. (Probably been rewritten by now - this is 50+ years ago.)

Get 'em young, and you have 'em for life.

Which is why duty is fading. We've gotten away from duty, earning badges by MERIT, doing things as a group, and reinforcing generosity, kindness, volunteerism, thrift, courtesy, and respect for others and our environment.

Hard swing to treating kids as the boss of the family, massive electronic babysitting, participation trophies, grade inflation, socializing only with your kids, not letting them fail or play unsupervised, on and on. We are doing them no favors. And so many have very little concept of other people as thinking, feeling, deserving entities.

However, there is some good news - a lot of them are discovering for themselves what our generation has failed to teach. They are caring about their environment, breaching their isolation, and seeing other people in a truer light than many of us see ourselves. They're starting to build higher standards for themselves than we asked of them. And it won't be long before some sense of duty comes into play, if only by necessity with diminishing resources.

That's my take on it, anyhow. Didn't mean to go wall-o-text, but it's been the subject of some recent introspection, so there you go.

Quote: billryan

Do you have a sense of duty? If so, to whom?

Yes, a diluted sense of duty to country, family, and co-workers.

But it's not as strong as it was when I was growing up.

Given the choice of selflessness vs. selfishness I usually opt for door number two, and these days society seems to prioritize the needs of the individual over those of the body politic.

Most admirable, BBB.

I found the cub scouts to be more oriented to the kids of the scoutmasters and their friends and soon dropped out.

In the special Olympics everyone is a winner, but that is probably correct under the unique circumstances.
Otherwise, I agree that mere participation is not enough.

This current fashion of 'helicoptering' is absurd.

Preparing meals for search and rescue teams or servingmeals at a senior center are good tools.