The Robert N. Maddox Honor Lecture by Mr. James C. Cherry, Grand Chapter Address James C. Cherry (Hampden Sydney) is chief executive officer of Mid-Atlantic Banking for Wachovia Bank, N.A., the nations 4th largest financial institution. Brother Cherry was inducted in the Hall of Honor in 2002. He has served the Legion of Honor over the past three (3) decades in various capacities including Regent (1990-92) and currently as the Chairman of the Educational Foundation. Are you men of the day or creatures of the night? Will your life's work be best seen and judged in the bright light of day or will it be more favorably viewed on a moonless night through a glass darkly? And will you lead others on the path you follow?

James C. Cherry gives Grand Chapter Address

Good morning, I am delighted to be with you on the occasion of our 61st Grand Chapter to discuss these important questions and the answers, which can have such great import to all of our lives.

To start, join me at our beginning. Journey back in time for a moment and picture in your mind's eye, if you can, a cold, frosty, moonlit night. The date: October 1868. The place: a parade ground at Virginia Military Institute. Here, three men gathered near a limestone outcropping, placed their hands over a Bible, and pledged themselves to a brotherhood based on the tenets of honor, love, and truth.

Now, here we are together, well over a century later, still called to respond to the demands of these principles. What did these words mean to them? And, more importantly, what do they mean to us today?

To them, I don't believe "honor" meant just tip your hat to the ladies, don't throw food at the table, and have all of the gentlemanly characteristics of the chivalric code--though these were certainly redeeming qualities. No, I think it meant very simply "respect." They believed that in order to have a true and viable brotherhood, each brother must both respect his brother and bring respect to his brother.

To find this definition of "honor" as "respect," we need look no further than the very Bible they held in their hands. One of the most prominent uses of the word "honor" in the Bible is found in the Fifth Commandment that says: "Honor your father and mother". In this context, Biblical scholars generally agree that the word "honor" has a dual meaning: both to respect one's mother and father; i.e. to obey, listen to, and be mindful of; and, also to bring respect to one's father and mother by one's own good deeds and upstanding behavior. Said another way, to honor one's parents as well as to bring honor to one's parents.

We'll come back to this definition of honor in a second, but let's turn for a moment to the other tenets. The second tenet, "Truth," didn't mean just to tell the truth; more than that, it meant open, honest communications between people. You see, "truth" like "honor" was part of our founders' prescription for building "Love", the third tenet, which meant, of course, "fraternity." They believed that, through open, honest communication, men would gain respect for one another and fraternity would ultimately flourish.

For our discussion today, we will focus principally on the tenet of "honor"; not just because this is an "honor lecture"--though it is--but for two much more significant reasons:

First, "honor" was the primary focus of our founders. We know this because they uniquely styled Sigma Nu not as a "social fraternity" like the others of that day; but, tellingly, as an "honor fraternity" that they envisioned as the Legion of Honor; and,

Second, because honor is in such great need and of such tremendous importance to us today. You see, I believe that the greatest threat to our nation and us is not terrorism, but the decline of American honor both at home and abroad. In fact, as an aside, I think it is even fair to surmise that the decline of "respect"--"honor"--for America and Americans has actually encouraged, aided, and abetted terrorism and the many other threats to our culture, society, and democratic way of life. I hold with Thomas Jefferson who I believe it was that said, and I paraphrase for the lack of the direct quote, if our country is ever to fall, it will do so by collapse from within, not by assault from without.

I observe that the obesity of America is not measured by the size of our waists or wallets, but by a growing slothful and lazy commitment to the values that our founders cherished. Success is too often measured in monetary terms and we fall all over ourselves to "honor" athletes, celebrities and corporate executives without regard to the ethical behaviors they model.

The most valued physicians in Washington and the corporate boardroom today seam to be the spin-doctors who can deftly defend any viewpoint regardless of ethical merit. Pollsters are becoming more important to public policy than principles; and, one of our highest leaders has taught us that integrity and honesty depend on how one defines the word "is." In this litigious society, we are beginning to value debating skills and the well-delivered argument more than the right or wrong of an issue.

I am reminded of a young boy who asked his father to explain to him what an ethical dilemma was. The father thought for a moment and said, "Well, son, let me see if I can give you an illustration. You know your uncle Jake and I own a hardware store together. Let's say one day that our good neighbor, Mr. Wilson, comes in to buy a hammer and, after he leaves with his purchase, I realize that I overcharged him five dollars. Now, I have an ethical dilemma: should I keep the five dollars or should I share it with your uncle?!"

Well, as humorous as this story might be, sadly, variations of such misguided ethical judgments play out in homes, schools, boardrooms, and human relations every day. In the human mind, we have found an almost infinite ability to rationalize almost any position we choose to take, so it is no wonder that America is losing the high ground and no longer enjoys a reputation, the respect, for doing what is right and just.

Ah! that's fine you say, but what can we do about it? Well, in Sigma Nu's case, we are already doing something about it. We're following the Way of Honor by dedicating ourselves to the development of ethical leaders for the twenty-first century and beyond. It is for this purpose that the Sigma Nu Educational Foundation launched--I'm proud to say, during the tenure of my Regency--the Leadership, Ethics, Achievement, and Development program, known by its acronym, LEAD.

In short, LEAD is devoted to the full development of the mind, heart, and character of all of our undergraduate members, not just during their pledging, but also throughout their entire undergraduate experience. It teaches the individual accountability of every brother to inculcate the tenets of our Fraternity into all of their behaviors and decisions. So, one of the first things you can do is to help fulfill the vision of the Founders by insuring that your collegiate chapter fully embraces LEAD and by insisting on its complete implementation.

The other thing you can do is to make honor "the rule of your life without, as well as within, these walls"--meaning, in everything you do inside and outside of Sigma Nu. If you're a collegian, use the fraternal laboratory of your undergraduate experience to hone and develop your ethical decision-making skills--that's what Hopkins, Quarles and Riley had in mind when they met at that limestone outcropping so many years ago. Constantly test your behaviors and choices with this simple touchstone: does it look right when judged up close in the full, bright discerning light of day, or is it better viewed in the shadows, from a distance, in the dim, darkness of night? Test it this way: would your relatives, friends and Brothers be proud or embarrassed--would they be "honored"--to read about what you did on the front page of the morning newspaper?

You might rightfully ask: "Do you believe that Sigma Nu is the only way of honor?" And I would say "no." Fortunately, many other groups, organizations, and individuals are aggressively pursuing this same path. But, I do believe that Sigma Nu can be a big part of your answer, because it has been a big part of mine and legions of others. And, most important, it's the best answer on the college campus today.

John Milton called a "true and complete education that which fits a man to perform justly, skillfully and magnanimously all of the offices, both public and private, of peace and war." What could possibly provide such a broad education? To my mind, only an education that focused not on a single or even multiple of academic disciplines; but, instead, on the total development of mind, heart and character, could meet such a high calling. Sounds like Sigma Nu to me!

Let me begin to close by repeating the first questions I asked you: Are you men of the day or creatures of the night? Will your life's work be best seen and judged in the bright light of day or will it be more favorably viewed on a moonless night through a glass darkly? And will you lead others on the path you follow?

Said another way, will you unreservedly commit yourself and determine to lead others: "To believe in the life of love, to walk in the way of honor, and to serve in the light of truth, for this is the life the way and light of Sigma Nu. This is the creed of our fraternity."

Or--and I'll end with this question--will you simply give a polite hand and nod to a Past Regent who gave a nice Grand Chapter address, but certainly takes this fraternal pilgrimage thing way too seriously, and obviously just doesn't get it?

The Robert N. Maddox Honor Lecture was started by Brother Maddox (Arkansas), a Past Regent (1972-74) and a member of the Hall of Honor (1988) at the 53rd Grand Chapter in 1988. His vision was "... that the Honor Lecture will be one of the catalysts that leads more Knights of Sigma Nu to apply the HONOR Principle in every act of their lives." About this lecture, Brother Maddox said, "Think of the impact if every Sigma Nu could be persuaded to rededicate himself to living by the HONOR Principle in his daily life."