Warrior, It’s More Than a Word, its a mindset, its a life's choice.
My daughter asks me why I keep going back to one particular forum. The latest thread to perturb me was one about the use of the term warrior. The thread originator said he was tired of the term warrior being over-used and I agree with him. What disgusted me is the number of people who jumped in to say that “by definition,” MMMA (Mixed Martial Arts) players are also real warriors. Whose definition? Some of the forumites claimed that the MMA are the new generation of heroes. If these fighters seriously want to prove their manhood they should do it privately and not for money or public accolades. Wrestlers, boxers, even karateka fighting in tournaments are not warriors. Their training may make them better fighters, but engaging in acts of public competition, for fame or money, is not the way of the warrior. These MMA fighters, and worse yet the gladiatorial fans cheering them on, sicken me, it is simply gratuitous violence. If all it takes to be a modern warrior is to beat up someone, or to suffer pain, then wouldn’t the spouse abuser, or the cutter who takes a razor blade and slits his or her skin, “by definition” also be warriors? Its got to be more than that.
To even suggest that these MMA showmen are the moral equivalent of persons serving in the military is a gross injustice. It reveals the shallowness of sports spectators who only participate in life safely and vicariously. The 120 pound woman shouldering her 75 pound rucksack and her black rifle to go out on patrol, she is a warrior. The medic who travels unarmed in harm’s way, he is a warrior. The man who throws himself on a grenade to save his buddies, he’s a real hero. Is every man or woman in uniform carrying a gun a hero or a warrior? Not necessarily. Some of them are cowards, who might become heroes, and some are men who took the job in peacetime looking for an easy wage. In time, some of the cowards and salarymen might become warriors and some of the macho wannabe warriors will be forced to face their innermost fears and weaknesses. Yet they too may become warriors under the right conditions.
One of the more vocal supporters of the MMA as warriors says that the dictionary proves him right. I have included a definition from a modern online dictionary.
1.
a person engaged or experienced in warfare; soldier.
2.
a person who shows or has shown great vigor, courage, or aggressiveness, as in politics or athletics.
It is easy to see where this forumite bases his ideas. Whether he chooses to acknowledge it or not, the gulf between the first definition and the second is truly insurmountable! Just because you can find it in a dictionary only makes it “true” for arguments sake. How can anyone with any sense of moral value equate “a person engaged in warfare,” with “a person who shows great vigor in politics or athletics?” Sadly language and truth have become victims of our modern age. Definitions of words are distorted for our personal comfort and we have thereby become giants in our own minds. Damn it, Don’t modify the meanings of words just to make yourself feel bigger, braver, better. We have some desk jockeys here at work who attended a few quality seminars and now they are called “black-belts.” Black-belts my ass! Words used to mean something very special. Language was sacred. Today words are just meaningless tools used by the undeserving, salves for the feeble hearted and laurels for the morally dysfunctional. Powerful words like “hero” and “warrior,” like many a man’s worth today, seem to have little or no value. On this Memorial Day I especially ask you to Honor the real warriors: those past, those who fight daily for our freedoms, and those who stand ready and willing. Keep sacred in your heart those men and women and the word, “Warrior.”
My daughter asks me why I keep going back to one particular forum. The latest thread to perturb me was one about the use of the term warrior. The thread originator said he was tired of the term warrior being over-used and I agree with him. What disgusted me is the number of people who jumped in to say that “by definition,” MMMA (Mixed Martial Arts) players are also real warriors. Whose definition? Some of the forumites claimed that the MMA are the new generation of heroes. If these fighters seriously want to prove their manhood they should do it privately and not for money or public accolades. Wrestlers, boxers, even karateka fighting in tournaments are not warriors. Their training may make them better fighters, but engaging in acts of public competition, for fame or money, is not the way of the warrior. These MMA fighters, and worse yet the gladiatorial fans cheering them on, sicken me, it is simply gratuitous violence. If all it takes to be a modern warrior is to beat up someone, or to suffer pain, then wouldn’t the spouse abuser, or the cutter who takes a razor blade and slits his or her skin, “by definition” also be warriors? Its got to be more than that.
To even suggest that these MMA showmen are the moral equivalent of persons serving in the military is a gross injustice. It reveals the shallowness of sports spectators who only participate in life safely and vicariously. The 120 pound woman shouldering her 75 pound rucksack and her black rifle to go out on patrol, she is a warrior. The medic who travels unarmed in harm’s way, he is a warrior. The man who throws himself on a grenade to save his buddies, he’s a real hero. Is every man or woman in uniform carrying a gun a hero or a warrior? Not necessarily. Some of them are cowards, who might become heroes, and some are men who took the job in peacetime looking for an easy wage. In time, some of the cowards and salarymen might become warriors and some of the macho wannabe warriors will be forced to face their innermost fears and weaknesses. Yet they too may become warriors under the right conditions.
One of the more vocal supporters of the MMA as warriors says that the dictionary proves him right. I have included a definition from a modern online dictionary.
1.
a person engaged or experienced in warfare; soldier.
2.
a person who shows or has shown great vigor, courage, or aggressiveness, as in politics or athletics.
It is easy to see where this forumite bases his ideas. Whether he chooses to acknowledge it or not, the gulf between the first definition and the second is truly insurmountable! Just because you can find it in a dictionary only makes it “true” for arguments sake. How can anyone with any sense of moral value equate “a person engaged in warfare,” with “a person who shows great vigor in politics or athletics?” Sadly language and truth have become victims of our modern age. Definitions of words are distorted for our personal comfort and we have thereby become giants in our own minds. Damn it, Don’t modify the meanings of words just to make yourself feel bigger, braver, better. We have some desk jockeys here at work who attended a few quality seminars and now they are called “black-belts.” Black-belts my ass! Words used to mean something very special. Language was sacred. Today words are just meaningless tools used by the undeserving, salves for the feeble hearted and laurels for the morally dysfunctional. Powerful words like “hero” and “warrior,” like many a man’s worth today, seem to have little or no value. On this Memorial Day I especially ask you to Honor the real warriors: those past, those who fight daily for our freedoms, and those who stand ready and willing. Keep sacred in your heart those men and women and the word, “Warrior.”
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