Thus conscience does make cowards of us all,
And thus the native hue of Resolution
Is sicklied o’er, with the pale cast of Thought,

So readers, as you have probably caught on by now, something we at S&O regularly wrestle with is the nature of thought vs action. It is a particularly important theme for me. Several Code of Honor episodes have Francis and I hog-tying with the notion of what it means to think and to put those thoughts to action. Also in our heroes episodes, you see us swing between those who were thought leaders and philosophers, and those who were men of action.

Yet, how can there be one without the other? Those who think without acting are paralyzed, frozen by forces they won’t face. Those who act without thinking are merely buffoons, or worse, destructive of the world around them.

This intellectual wrestle-paloozza (I think WWE has trademarked the phrase I wanted to use, rhymes with Albania) goes back quite a ways in human history, Hamlet is coming late to the party here really. Yet the action he considers taking, “taking arms against a sea of troubles and by opposing end them”, is the extreme example of the dilemma. Yes, his troubles are legion. His father is dead, likely at the hands of his uncle. For political reasons, his mother has joined with the uncle in a somewhat questionable relationship. He’s continuously plagued by fools. His birthright, the throne, has been stolen by that same uncle. He and his friends are seeing ghosts. And he’s got no idea what to do about his girlfriend. Things are rotten in Denmark indeed.

Eventually he would move away from the “undiscovered country” option, deciding to relieve himself of the fool Polonius, and dodge around Rosencrantz and Guildenstern. Then he confronts his mother and botches things with Ophelia. He has to live with the consequences. Perhaps these were the wrong actions to take.

We all wrestle with these decisions. We try to find the balance between doubt, thought, fear and action. S&O, as I’ve said before, is a way I work at overcoming my timidity and try to be bold and act. It seems a small thing, just being brave enough to record myself and my friends spouting off, but performing is hard for an introvert. We’re out there, hopefully with passion and knowledge, fun and humor. So let’s go back to a great Code of Honor, where I quote the Chairman of the Board for inspiration in living a brave life.