The Secret of the White Rose: Living with Dignity

The word honor is defined as the respect one has for oneself and, in another definition, as the personal value and reputation on which the respect shown by others is based. Two points stand out in these definitions. In the first definition, the respect that people have for themselves, and in the second definition, the respect that is shown to people by others is called honor. In this case, the definition of the word honor can be defined as the respect for human beings both by themselves and by others. 

These characteristics are in addition to the characteristics that humans have in common with other living beings. We can also call this the set of values that make human beings human. These characteristics constitute the value or honor of the human being. In Western societies, the concept of honor is defined and analyzed in legal, moral and cultural terms. 

The first concept that should come to mind when it comes to honor is the value of human beings. Because a human being is valuable as a human being. What makes him/her valuable are his/her unique human characteristics that are not found in other living beings. Being able to think, to have will, to be educated, to foresee, to take a stand, to do science and art, to believe, to love, to be free, to speak, to work, etc. These characteristics make human beings valuable. 

If human beings are valuable because of these qualities, and they are, then their value must be protected both by other human beings and by themselves. Thus, living a dignified life or living with dignity is the protection of this value of human beings, their value as human beings. Honor is the protection, preservation and exaltation of one's value as a human being, both in oneself and in others. 

An honorable life is a life in which the value of human beings is not violated or violated. To live with dignity is to live with the qualities that make human beings human. A person whose knowledge, thinking, science, art, and emotions are blocked, whose freedom and will are taken away from him/her means that his/her dignity, that is, his/her value, has been violated. An honorable life is a life lived with these qualities. 

Respect means recognizing the value of human beings and acting in a way that protects this value. An honorable life is a life lived with respect for human values. Let's use a sharp definition, a bit like a slogan: a human being becomes a human being if he or she lives an honorable life. A life lived without dignity takes a person away from being human. 

So, how do we protect the value and dignity of human beings? How will we create and live honorable lives?

Of course, it is not easy to answer all at once, but I think we can build such a life with universal, humanitarian, ethical values and principles. We can live dignified lives with these values and principles, which guide and guide us in our behaviors and actions, which are our inner referees, and with our consciences formed from them. With the principle of "the right to life" at the forefront of these. The value of human beings, that is, their dignity, can be protected by human values and principles, by human rights. We can live dignified lives by living by universal, humanitarian and ethical values such as love, respect, freedom, tolerance, sharing, equality, compassion, justice, honesty and knowledge, and by weaving our lives with the principles that we produce from these values.  In short, a dignified life is a life that is protected and lived based on universal principles, both in ourselves and in others. A dignified life is living like a human being, living humanely. It is not enough to protect the dignity and value of the human being only for oneself; one must also try to protect this value in any person we know or do not know, living in any geography of the country or the world. This is what it means to live with honor.

The violation of honor even in one person means the violation of the honor of humanity as a whole. If the dignity of humanity is violated, then our dignity as a person is also violated. 

So why can't we live with dignity most of the time, why can't we afford to live with dignity? 

I think the most important reason is "our interests." Our personal expectations, our selfishness, our outrageous and morbid ambitions are the rewards we will receive! It is often our fears that create dishonorable lives. Fear of harm to us or to those in our sphere of life, to what we have achieved so far, ignorance, ignorance can also lead to dishonor. The ideologies, ideas, emotions, beliefs, customs, traditions, traditions, customs, cultures that we hold that are incompatible with universal ethical principles can also be the source of ordinary lives lived dishonorably. It is necessary to be principled and live by human values. It is necessary not to compromise on these principles and values, to be consistent, to move away from our interests, ambitions, selfishness, cruelty, violence and ignorance. Most importantly, it is necessary to know the value of human beings and to believe that human beings are valuable. It is necessary to protect the value of the human being, first in oneself and then in others. We must not stop being free, thinking, hearing and loving. 

It is easy to live without honor; it is difficult to build honorable lives. Difficult is always good, it is not to be savored. Time spent with dishonorable people is wasted. 

An honorable person is like a white rose. He is innocent, clean to the point of purity, values loyalty, seeks sincerity, pursues a peaceful, loving life. In short, he always lives with honor.

Stay with respectful love.