As a Girl Scout you learn a recite a promise that starts every meeting.  It began with “On my honor I will try…” I’ve said this promise every Tuesday from 2nd grade through 6th grade when I attended Girl Scouts.  Last year we visited Arlington cemetery and watched as the guard changed duties.  As we waited Kianna asked me what the meaning of “honor code” and “honor system”.  We both had learned the Girl Scout promise in Girl Scouts but hadn’t thought about the meaning of “honor code” and the meaning of these two-word.

An honor code is something that we make a promise to uphold whether it’s between friends, at school, civic duties, or socially.  We have a common belief that as a member of the organization we stand united.  It is through an honor code that we trust one another to make the right decisions, to work with one another and to know that we can look at each other in the eyes that there is a common foundation between us.  We learn about honor codes from others who carry the beliefs of the code and entrust the words for us to carry forward into actions.  Whether these honor codes are in the Girl/Boy Scouts, companies we work in, churches we belong to, or civic/social organizations we belong to, they are entrusted to individuals to carry forward.

So why am I writing about honor codes in a blog when they go back as far as the bible?  Why write about honor code if they exists in organizations and companies?  It is because I am seeing that honor codes are crumbling around us.  We don’t have an honor code when it comes to social media, Facebook, Twitter, etc.  We have lost the art of an honor code in writing, arts, and visually.  Instead we copy, make fun of others, and post everything to YouTube.  We have lost honor code of how we treat each other when we drive, walk down the street, and even shopping at the grocery store.  Instead we have our phones up playing games, texting, or playing videos.

Why is the honor code important? It’s the promise that we make to one another that we entrust “something” to each other.  It’s a common understanding that we use to build relationships and friendships.  Does having “followers” on Twitter have an honor code?  If not, what honor code(s) have you made lately?

11/24/12