On Human Dignity

What constitutes human dignity? Is it enough food to eat? Is it a good home? A good job? A healthy growing 401(k)? Or is it an abundance of good friends and family? Perhaps it is a decent respect in the community. Or perhaps, it is nothing outside of us at all, but something within us, something that cannot be supplied by anyone or anything outside of us. That is the traditional view of this issue, and in this day and time I think it bears reminding ourselves of what the traditional understanding is of human dignity, and how it relates to America and American culture.

It has been recognized down through the ages that human beings are different from the world, different from animal, vegetable or mineral. The traditional view attributes this difference to the fact that we are capable of reason, appreciation of beauty, religious worship, and above all, virtue.

Virtue encompasses passions such as patience, moderation, selflessness, moral candor, self-responsibilty, and nobility in our relations with others. And to live a life of virtue, or what is commonly called a good life, is the sine qua non of living; it is a life of worth and value not only in others eyes, but more importantly, in our own eyes. It is that kind of life in which we may be disparaged or vilified by everyone, and yet still look in the mirror and not be ashamed.

The classic American ethic posits that there is something bigger than each of us individually, that there are causes to strive for that are larger than ourselves. In ever widening circles, those causes involve our family, friends, neighbors, community, nation and world. But one thing more: those causes necessarily involve our own participation, or own commitment, our own striving for accomplishment, and ultimately our own realization as self-responsible people in this world. In the pursuit of the Good, America has always demanded that we be real people, not cogs in a wheel or bureaucrats in a State, who are personally committed to that which is greater than ourselves. In this one thing more, the American ethic affirms and incorporates the ages old definition of human dignity and the good life.

A tyrant can incarcerate you; a greedy employer can suck you dry over years with long hours and low wages; a bully of a husband or neighbor or a local policeman can intimidate you; a father or mother can refuse to give you the support and love you need; all of these can happen to you and more: a destructive storm, a devastating turn in the economy, the onset of war with barbarians.

All of this might wear you down, hurt your friends and family, suck the very life out of you. But even so, a good person, a person with self-respect, can find a foothold to hold fast to that which is good, and perhaps, with God's help, come out the other side stronger and most importantly, wiser. And if not, then at least to have the satisfaction of having done one's best.

Whether any of this is true or not is really beside the point. It is in any case the essence of the American dream, and it is a good dream, and one that has inspired our nation for 200 years to unparalleled achievements in the age-old hope of alleviating simple human suffering.