Honor over everything

Dear Blog Diary,
Values - Virtues you believe in.
Integrity - Living out your values
Honor - Maintaining your integrity

So my last name is Hoang.

Ho-ahng. Mush it together and almost sounds like Hwong, but until roughly my early 20s I pronounced it Hoying. Why? Because my father thought it would be easier for Americans to say.

It’s weird to see people from my childhood randomly and they call me Eric Hoying. How would they know differently? Neither did I. Micro example of being cut off from half of my heritage, but it’s dope to know it now and have a pride in my name/ancestry.

One of many reasons why I love the Japanese:

Given the times and technology, imagine having to educate and describe a nuclear bomb to someone.

Hey, we got bombed yesterday.

Yeah. This is WWII. Everybody but Switzerland bombing shit. How bad was it?

Well…it’s still a bomb but, it’s different. It’s just…fucking totemo sugoi desu yo.

Leadership in Tokyo learns of the devastation, how horrific it truly was. They didn’t have a count at the time but try explaining a weapon that killed 140,000 people in Hiroshima on top of the structural environmental devastation.

Three days pass. The United States alerts Japan that if they don’t surrender, they will drop another nuclear bomb and completely desolate another city in their country.

Andddd the Japanese just say “Fuck it. Samurai blue baby these colors don’t bleed. Drop it whitey we’ll have another.”

Now I’m no Geronimo but I would have surrendered after the first one. You betcha. But this is the soul of Japan. Real samurai shit. Of course they eventually did quit but it took two nuclear bombs for them to stop fighting, not one.

It’s important to know yourself in this world. Can’t love that person in the mirror unless you know him/her. Always more to find out, even if it’s your name. Pursue that, and when you really get to know yourself, stand by who you are indisputably. Honor over everything and have a conviction to live that way.

Never stop fighting to maintain that. 

Best,
E
#ARTiculate