This task isn t easy. Each day we face situations that challenge our integrity. But acts of courage spontaneous, often done with little calculation, planning, or thought tell less about our character than do the decisions we make regarding the small, every day temptations in life. The more we compromise our standards, fudge the line between right and wrong, the less we become. If we take a few pencils from work, we are thieves even if others would see the theft as inconsequential.
Honor is personal.
In the end, only we can honor ourselves. Each decision we make must be guided by principle. No wrong is small. Great cliffs fall into the ocean because wave by wave, the sea washes them away. Good men too diminish over time if their ordinary, daily actions erode the values underpinning their lives.