Why do we ride The High Road?
I an effort to define what we're about, and why it is we claim to have the Moral High Ground right in the name of our forum so as to dispel accusations of hypocrisy and hubris, I went and rooted up this thread. We could condense it, but there's some great stuff in this one, so maybe that's unneccessary.
Why do you come to TheHighRoad?
How can we claim to ride The High Road? It's actually quite simple: we have very high self-imposed standards of behavior, with respect to ourselves as well as society in general. This involves a lot of highbrow, three-dollar words that helpd to define what I like to think of as nobility of spirit:
Honesty.
Integrity.
Civility.
Respect.
Accountability.
Responsibility.
These are a set of qualities, along with simple Good Manners, that members here embody in their thinking and worldview by conscious choice.
Knowing that you've chosen to lead your life by such standards gives one the confidence to stand squarely at the top and lead by example, in a position that can easily withstand the moral onslaughts of a complicated world without fear of failing to measure up. Getting more of society to think this way would better all of us, both as individuals and a society.
That's how I look at The High Road. I like to think a lot of my fellow HighRiders would agree. That's why I keep coming back.
It also helps me to look in the mirror. The strongest judge one can face is one's-self...
The Guy in the Glass
When you get what you want in your struggle for pelf*,
And the world makes you King for a day,
Then go to the mirror and look at yourself,
And see what that guy has to say.
For it isn't your Father, or Mother, or Wife,
Who judgement upon you must pass.
The feller whose verdict counts most in your life
Is the guy staring back from the glass.
He's the feller to please, never mind all the rest,
For he's with you clear up to the end,
And you've passed your most dangerous, difficult test
If the guy in the glass is your friend.
You may be like Jack Horner and "chisel" a plum,
And think you're a wonderful guy,
But the man in the glass says you're only a bum
If you can't look him straight in the eye.
You can fool the whole world down the pathway of years,
And get pats on the back as you pass,
But your final reward will be heartaches and tears
If you've cheated the guy in the glass.
by Dale Winbrow, (c) 1934
* 'pelf' is a derogatory or jocular word for money or wealth (Oxford Dictionary)
From the book "Swamp cabbage and angel wings".