Honor, Loyalty and a Dying Breed

I attended a funeral last Thursday for the wife of a fellow American Legion Rider. I was part of a group of Legion Riders from our local post (69) here in Payson, Arizona. We attended on our motorcycles, wearing our 'colors' as a sign of support and respect for our brother and his family.

It struck me, as we were sitting in church listening to the eulogies, that I was a part of a dying breed in America. Although most of us looked like old Hell's Angels, with grizzled facial hair, motorcycle boots, jeans, 'do' rags, leather vests covered with name patches, American flags and awards, we were the loyal, the faithful, the keepers of the flame, the warriors of a bygone era. We were more though. We were his friends. We'd come not only to pay our respects to our brother in his time of need, but to continue a tradition which is disappearing and which, sadly, doesn't seem to be missed; camaraderie.

While its true that the Legion is based on the commonality of military service, it is only a base, a jumping off point for what serves as the nucleus of the group. It used to be that honor, loyalty, service and fidelity to one's comrades was something that was a given. It was passed down to us as children, by watching our fathers and other adult males from the time we were in grade school, through high school, college, military service and beyond. It was considered a sacred bond without having to be explained. A man's compatriots were his anchor from the vicissitudes and vagaries of his day to day life. One did not need to have daily contact. As men are wont to do, long gaps between visits or phone calls were the norm. Still, when a gathering took place, it seemed as if no time at all had passed. Old tales of bygone foibles, adventures, loves lost and found were exchanged with relish and gusto. Usually to much laughter and chiding. You could not embarass or be embarassed by your comrades. They knew your deepest secrets, and you theirs, so that nothing was sacred in their company. And that feeling of oneness, of belonging, of knowing that no matter what, these guys would go to the wall with you was always there, if unspoken.

Fast forward to today. In our headlong rush into the digital age, where communication is instantaneous but depth of meaning is lacking, we have lost that type of connection. We have become insular. Beings operating as individual vessels on a sea of pixels. To be sure, we have our 'friends' but they are only that. They are not comrades or brothers. They are not, it seems to me, people that we would go out of our way for. That level of committment to a group is reserved, these days, to street gangs and religious cults. We have gotten so used to asking 'can' something be done that we have forgotten to ask 'should' something be done.

The advent of feminism, multiculturalism, disdain for the 'patriarchal' society from which most of us came have made it unpopular to be a man these days. Advocates of the new world order are doing their best to see to it that men with ideals that me and my comrades hold are marginalized and consigned to the ash heap of history. Speaking only for myself, they can have the world that they are creating. When you sow the wind, you reap the whirlwind. Human evolution has not come as far as these folks think it has and at some point in the not too distant future there will arise the need for the type of man who is being cast aside now. I only hope that there are still some left to answer civilization's call.

We have lost our way as a society, putting more emphasis on 'diversity' than commonality. We are breaking the bonds that brought our society to greatness and casting aside the thing that makes it worthwhile. Its sad to see it happening. Sadder still to know that the conventional wisdom not only doesn't mourn the loss, but celebrates it.

But that's just one man's opinion.