Southern Honor: Ethics and Behavior in the Old South Book

I absolutely love this book though I have not gotten very far. I saw it one day last year in Barnes and Noble on the employee picks shelf. I was shocked when I went back to buy it, and the salesperson, a college age young woman, exclaimed, "Oh, that was my pick!! I loved that book. I was using it for research on a paper, and I was so enthralled I read the whole thing. It was intriguing". This coming from a non-Southerner, I knew I had to read it.

It is a scholarly endeavor that has been recently revised and republished; originally published in the 70's. The author explores the role of honor in the old South, and its lineage from more ancient and agrarian cultures ("Likewise, for many Southern gentlemen of the antebellum South, the philosophy of the Emperor's Meditations was nearly equal to the Bible as a source of moral wisdom"). What I like is that he is not glorifying or approaching the value of honor naively. He is certainly illuminating the shadow side of honor, and the results of strict adherence to honor at any cost. He even purports that the Civil War was fought based on this value. He does not deny that slavery was inextricably linked to the role honor played in the South's going to war.

I have always felt proud of my Southern heritage, and often misunderstood. Living outside of the South, one is often queried about racism, ingorance, etc., and the projections of stereotypes seem to fly. To me this book speaks to the complexity of the South; it is helping me to understand the complexities of my native culture, and in turn within myself. It conjures up fond memories and feelings in regard to the values of duty, honor, family, etc.

Wyatt-Brown notes with a tinge of sadness the disappearance of honor within our modern culture. He points out that the only place the value of honor is still alive and well is in our military culture (again, not denying its shadow). This was a bit of an "aha" moment for me, helping to explain my draw to military culture, and working with soldiers and veterans.

I am curious about what the word honor evokes for others. For me it is a complex and deep value; one that strikes a cord in my heart. I love that this book is helping me to explore both the external and internal meaning of honor.