I Would Not Say Anything for a Man
Tyrtaeus
page 818
The man argument made by Tyrtaeus in his work I Would Not Say Anything for a Man is that battle and war are not all about just earning respect and being honored. It's about more. More specifically, he argues that war isn't where a man earns respect just for going to war, you earn it after you've fully served. He says, "For no man ever proves himself a good man in war unless he can endure to face the blood and slaughter, go close against the enemy and fight with his hands." (page 818) He is saying that it takes more than only being willing to fight and enter battle but that a man never proves himself until he actually acts on that and faces his enemies face on. In conclusion, it is Tyrtaeus' belief that men do not prove themselves by going to war, respect and honor are earned.
I think that Tyrtaeus' point is correct. War isn't a place where men go out in self-righteousness and earn respect. In fact, I think it's the opposite. I think the way someone earns respect through war is by humbling themselves enough that they would really be willing to do anything for the values they're fighting for, including sacrificing their lives. For example, in November of 2009, I lost a good friend Aaron Nemelka who had just recently become a Private First Class in the Army and was ready to be scheduled for tour in Iraq on a bomb-difusing squad before he was murdered in the Fort Hood Shooting in Texas. He never went to battle, but he still died serving his country and he is one of the people I respect most. The visual I used for this post is Pfc. Nemelka's casket being carried by a US Army Honor Guard at his funeral. I think that the willingness and humility with going to war is what earns respect and honor, not the masculinity of taking lives on a battle field.
