If the offending party refused to apologize, then the offender and the offended agreed upon rules for the duel. The objective of the duel was to restore one's lost honor. The rules of the duel were usually some of these:
- Time of day
- Direction each party was to face
- Weapon or weapons to be used
- Seconds selected to insure fairness
- Number of paces before firing
- Boundaries for firing marked usually with a sword
- An agreed upon person to signal the duel
- A method of initiating the duel (handkerchief dropped)
- Each firing at will
- The conditions set for winning the duel
- etc.
These are the "rules of engagement" for a typical western pistol duel before they were outlawed. These rules insured that fights were fairly fought and there was a way to have honor restored. It was a primitive way of obtaining honor, and even Aaron Burr and Alexander Hamilton dueled to the latter's death. Likewise, Andrew Jackson dueled with and won a duel to restore the honor of his dishonored wife. It is still marked in Adairville, Kentucky just west of town. In Simpson County the "blip" of Kentucky extending into Tennessee is called "Dueling Grounds", the closest locale from Nashville where dueling was at that time legal.
Order is maintained by rules even though risking one's life over honor doesn't seem to be worth it to me! I would rather live with an insult than die with honor. Life is too precious to do silly things to end it abruptly! I live by the adage "Sticks and stones will break my bones, but words will never hurt me!" My duel with anybody is a "duel of words" and the "rule of engagement" is truth!
When modern people duel it's usually a battle of the tongues.
James 3:8 "But the tongue can no man tame; it is an unruly evil, full of deadly poison."The tongue is a deadly weapon! Modern man uses the tongue to destroy others. The destruction may be about honor, truth, reputation, fidelity, and even life itself. Right now we are watching candidates for president of both parties "duel to the finish" without letting honor nor truth inhibit the utter destruction of the opponents. We need better "rules of engagement" not only for our candidates for office, but in disagreements between people!
Rather than calling names, the last resort when an argument is lost, what about civil discourse? Rather than saying "Lyin' Ted" why not this:
Ephesians 4:29 "Let no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth, but that which is good to the use of edifying, that it may minister grace unto the hearers."It appears that Ted Cruz made a mistake in discounting Benjamin Carson in the Iowa Caucus. Rather than saying "Lyin' Ted" perhaps saying "Ted is prone to making mistakes!" The former is an exaggeration and mere name-calling, which darkens the reputation of honorable Ted, while the latter is a mere perception based on truth.
Using scripture the "rule of engagement" is "to have the grace to edify another". If Donald Trump had said "Ted is an honorable and trustworthy person, but he made a huge mistake which kept me from winning!", Mr. Trump would appear to be a fair-minded and honorable person who spoke truth without using "corrupt communication". If done in that manner, Mr.Trump and Mr. Cruz would have both retained their honor and both would be perceived as civilized people! Using God's "rules of engagement" is a win-win situation!
Proverbs 21:23 "Whoso keepeth his mouth and his tongue keepeth his soul from troubles."Even with dueling tongues the "winner" is the "loser" as well! People disregard the "Lyin' Ted" exaggeration, but Mr. Trump now has his troubles. Even of he wins the primary race in the general election his rules of engagement will continue to trouble him. He may win the primary, but lose the race.
Proverbs 12:18 (ESV) "There is one whose rash words are like sword thrusts, but the tongue of the wise brings healing."It's time for fair "rules of engagement"! Mr. Trump, if he wises up, may rebound. My hope is that he does so, for a person of his caliber or Mr. Cruz's, is needed in this nation right now! He must practice fair "rules of engagement" now because on the global stage that must be done! He will not be able to call Mr. Putin "Lyin' Vladimir" even though Vlad may be a liar! With that M.O. all of us will be destroyed!
In the other party Hillary's M.O. is lying. It's documented and that's fair game! However, calling her "Lyin' Hillary" won't be effective, but publishing her lies will be. That's a fair "rule of engagement"!
When Hillary blames "a vast right wing conspiracy" to destroy the Clintons, that too is mere name calling and is dishonorable! She used that when Bill was exposed as a letch and a liar. She blamed others by name-calling; again calling it "a vast right-wing conspiracy". Any sane person knows that conservative Republicans didn't unzip Bill's pants. He did that with the help of another liberal Democrat. Hillary's reputation is soiled because her M.O. is dueling with the tongue through the use of lies and name-calling. She would be no more than "The Blamer in Chief" as is the current President.
Hillary needs honorable rules of engagement. We are to be a nation of civilized people, but those in charge use destructive rules of engagement and demagoguery is the rule and truth the exception! They can do better than that, but first they'll have to pay attention to the wisdom of God!
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