The Boy Scout oath begins, “On my honor, I will do my best to do my duty to God and my country ...” An explanation of the word “duty” in that organization’s handbook states that it is what others expect of you, but more importantly, it is what you expect of yourself.

All through life, we have duties. Some of these we willingly shoulder, some not so. Some we acquire by legal obligation, such as a loan, or a commitment to serve in the military. Others, we choose for ourselves.

Most duties we take on are out of a sense of moral obligation, which has to do with, as the Scout Oath begins, “On my honor ...” We learn honor from an early age as we are taught the Golden Rule of doing unto others, as we would have then do unto us. This rule makes us duty bound to respect not only the rights of others, but to respect ourselves. The rule is the basis of most, if not all, of the duties we will take in life. Many of these are sealed with a handshake, but are often as informal as the simple giving of one’s word, such as, “I’ll be there.” I am honor, and duty bound to do what I say.

These two words, “honor” and “duty,” define our character. They are who we are in the eyes of others, and as the definition states, how we see ourselves. Our willingness to step up to our duties, to honor them, defines us.

Some duties we willingly accept, such as a home loan. We may not want to borrow money, but most of us do not have thousands of dollars at our disposal. This lend, borrow relationship creates a duty to pay it back, which leads to other duties, such as work to make the money to honor our contract. Most of us do honor our contracted obligations. If we do not, the next time we need to borrow money, we may not be able to. Our credit rating will plunge, but worse than that, we have to live with the knowledge that we have no honor. We did not do our duty. Our character is flawed.

Those who choose not to fulfill their moral duty to obey the laws of society often find themselves on the wrong side of the law. Not only is their character, honor, and sense of duty called into question, but they are no longer free to roam among us. Jails are full of people without honor or a sense of duty.

Some duties are thrust upon us by circumstances, such as an illness of a family member or a friend. There is no contractual obligation here. When we were born into a family, we did not agree by covenant or promise to be there in sickness and health. Such an obligation comes later in life. Nor when we establish a friendship do we agree to be there always for anything. Family bears more weight than friendship, but regardless, we have a duty to both, but how far does that duty extend?

If we apply our first teachings concerning duty and honor, it becomes clear. Do unto others, as we would have them do unto us. Should that be our motivation? Aren’t we putting ourselves first with that kind of thinking? Maybe, but the karma of what goes around comes around, does happen.

The true essence of duty is not measuring what we do so that we will be cared for when we need help, but to do our duty simply because it is the right thing to do regardless of the end reward, or karma, or even a thought of what will come our way. We do our duty because we have honor. We will go; we will do, because it is the right thing.

David Wilson Atwood is a local writer whose human-interest columns offer a unique perspective. He may be contacted at: www.starchasers.us.