Composition
“The strong are not the best, but the honest ones. Honor and self-dignity are the strongest." These words of F. M. Dostoevsky confirm the fate of the heroes of the novel by A. S. Pushkin " Captain's daughter».
Pyotr Grinev and Alexey Shvabrin are nobles by birth, officers who swore allegiance to the empress. It would seem that they were raised on the same moral principles and should behave in the same way: nobly, dignity, bravely. But life circumstances force each of them to reveal their true essence.
Shvabrin, who puts his own benefit and selfish, cowardly interests first, in difficult times without hesitation goes over to Pugachev’s side. In fear for his life, he forgets about everything he swore before the Empress and the Bible.
In Pugachev’s camp, this man becomes one of the commanders. But this does not help him, because Shvabrin’s cowardly and vile nature does not inspire respect from either Pugachev or his associates. The hero's fate ends pitifully, because true respect is evoked only by honesty and self-esteem.
We see this in the example of the image of Pyotr Grinev. It cannot be said that this hero did not feel fear and did not know doubts. But nobility and strength of character did not allow Grinev to betray his principles. Even in front of the ferocious Pugachev, Peter speaks the truth: “No,” I answered firmly. - I am a natural nobleman; I swore allegiance to the Empress: I cannot serve you.”
Such an answer earns respect from the impostor. He lets Grinev go to Orenburg; moreover, he later helps the young man reunite with his beloved.
Thus, Russian literature teaches us that only honor and self-esteem can help a person to withstand and emerge victorious from any situation. life situations, no matter how difficult and dangerous they may be.
Honor is the moral qualities of a person worthy of respect and pride, it is a person’s good name, his unblemished reputation, etc. If a person keeps his word, does not betray his friends, does not betray his moral principles, always comes to the aid of the weak, then they say about him “ man of honor". These moral qualities are inherent not only in a general or an officer, but also in a civilian.
To warm up from our desks, we get up. On your marks! Run in place. Have more fun And faster, faster, faster! We bend forward - One - two - three - four - five. We twist the mill with our hands to stretch our shoulders. We begin to squat - One - two - three - four - five. And then jumping on the spot, we all jump higher together. Let's reach out to the sun. Let's stretch our arms to the sides. Now it's time to study. Yes, be diligent, don’t be lazy
L.N. Tolstoy “The Bone” The most important of human endeavors is the pursuit of morality. Our internal stability and our very existence depend on it. Only morality in our actions gives beauty and dignity to our lives. A. Einstein L.N. Tolstoy “Old Grandfather and Granddaughters” Old man with a child (Grandfather and granddaughters). Paris, Louvre Domenico Ghirlandaio.
Dignity is awareness of one's rights, one's moral value and self-respect. Dignity has become the right of every person to moral respect. This means that regardless of age, gender, nationality, wealth and everything else, a person is worthy of respect because he is moral: he lives honestly, distinguishes good from evil, does not commit immoral acts, and is capable of being fair. Dignity expresses people's idea of equality. The task of each person is not to humiliate the dignity of others and not to lose his own. Dignity helps a person to be confident and aware of his own worth. About a person who behaves with restraint, politely, calmly, they say: “This is a worthy person.” Dignity allows you to avoid mutual insults.
Siege Leningrad. People are dying of hunger. Daily norm per card 125 gr. Half of the bread with cellulose. The boy, who received bread using his card, suddenly saw that one woman, leaving the store, dropped her card. Looking around, furtively, he picked up the card. And, standing last in line, he received another portion of bread. Inspired, he went home and happily told his mother about this incident. I was impatiently waiting for praise, but I heard: “It would be better if you died.” Siege Leningrad. Excerpt from memories.
Homework Questions and tasks from the textbook p How do you understand the proverb “Take care of your dress again, but take care of your honor from a young age”? 2.What actions of the heroes of books, fairy tales, and movies you know correspond to the concepts of honor and dignity? 3.Name the athletes who defend the honor of our country at international competitions?
“The strong are not better, but the honest. Honor and self-respect are the strongest.” F.M.Dostoevsky
Dignity has never been a widespread quality, and moreover, rarely has anyone understood the essence of this concept itself and its significance. A sense of dignity has always been the preserve of the chosen few. But it was precisely on these few chosen ones, who at the right time spoke their weighty word, that the overall dignity of this or that people, nation, and sometimes all of humanity depended. The dignity of the people, of all humanity, is formed from the dignity of each individual. Failure to understand this phenomenon does not mean a lack of dignity as such. In a worthy state, a worthy citizen. And very often this national dignity can be protected by just a small group of people or even one person with the help of a timely spoken word, a timely expression of their principled opinion.
Let's remember just one example. On August 25, 1968, the so-called “demonstration of the seven” took place on Red Square in Moscow. A group of seven Soviet dissidents expressed their protest against the introduction of troops from the USSR and other Warsaw Pact countries into Czechoslovakia to suppress the Prague Spring. It became one of the most significant actions of Soviet dissidents. And perhaps the most important thing in this desperate action for that time was to protect the dignity of the then Soviet people. “For the citizens of Czechoslovakia, these people became the conscience Soviet Union», - wrote the legendary Vaclav Havel. And in the Prague newspaper “Literární listy” they wrote: “Seven people on Red Square are at least seven reasons why we will never be able to hate Russians.” The action under the slogan “For your and our freedom!” became a kind of indulgence for the Soviet people, but not for the state, which at that moment was deeply despised throughout the world, sometimes even by ideological comrades. Seven people with a sense of dignity were able to defend the dignity of the entire people.
It was not for nothing that Havel called them “the conscience of the Soviet Union.” Such people have always been the conscience of their nations. And if conscience determines a person’s feelings and awareness of responsibility for his behavior, his actions before himself, the highest power, people, society, then dignity is a high feeling and deep awareness of a person’s own self-respect. And self-respect can only be the result of moral behavior and awareness of one’s responsibility, that is, the presence of conscience. A worthy person is always a person with a sense of conscience. The presence of conscience is directly manifested through awareness of the feeling of freedom of action and action. Only through conscious choice can a person be truly honest and worthy. Any coercion denies the presence of conscience and dignity. But a personal example, especially if it is an action with a capital “A,” can make the masses think and voluntarily come closer to the desired ideal.
Such an example, a word spoken at the right time, acquires a special role during periods of moral discord, which every nation, more than once, experiences in its history. Today, moral discord, even a crisis, is being experienced by all of humanity. Basic values, which are the cornerstone of human existence itself, are eroded and lose priority when confronted with a cruel and sometimes illogical reality. Concepts such as honor, dignity, decency, nobility are gradually devalued and turn into a kind of dense prejudice, and sometimes into a big disadvantage. This process of degradation is especially noticeable in the sphere of politics, which in itself is extremely dangerous. After all, politics, devoid of elementary moral guidelines, turns into immoral, and immoral politics always and everywhere leads to the immorality of society, to permissiveness, limited only by the thirst for profit.
The United States is going through such a period today, where Donald Trump, a man who with his entire being subverts the foundations of American political correctness, quite unexpectedly won the last presidential election. The latter, although bordering on hypocrisy, gave politicians and other public figures, and simply media personalities, the opportunity to maintain a sense of self-worth. Today it is too early to talk about the moral decline of American society as such. So far, there is only obvious public confusion when faced with a serious challenge to the national sense of dignity of the American people.
And at this difficult moment, a man appeared who proved that not all was lost, that Americans continued to remain a worthy nation; a person who expressed in a few words the experiences of numerous representatives of the sensible part of society, who are not indifferent to the concepts of honor, dignity, and nobility.
I'm talking about Meryl Streep, the most exciting American actress of our time, who defied the looming backlash. Speaking at the Golden Globes, where she was presented with the Cecil B. DeMille Award for outstanding achievement in cinema, Meryl Streep harshly criticized elected president USA Donald Trump for ridiculing a disabled reporter.
Without mentioning Trump by name, the actress said in part: “There was one performance this year that blew me away. It touched me to the core. Not because it was good. There was nothing good about him. But it was effective and it did the job... It was a moment when a man who intends to occupy the most respected position in our country parodied a reporter with a disability... My heart was broken. I still can't forget it because it wasn't a movie. It was real life..."
The most important thing about Streep's words was not simply her defense of a disabled journalist whom Trump had offended by his behavior. Moreover, this journalist was a Pulitzer Prize winner, a reporter for the investigative department of the most authoritative American publication “The New York Times”, Serge Kowalevsky, who may well respond adequately to his offender with the help of his own talent. For Meryl Streep, the Kowalewski case was simply the most glaring example of the disastrous trend that Trump started.
It is no coincidence that in her next words she generalized this example: “This instinct to humiliate someone, when it is modeled by a public, powerful person, seeps into everyone’s life, because it in its own way gives permission to do the same. Disrespect breeds disrespect. Violence begets violence. When a powerful person uses his position to humiliate others, we all suffer.”
Truly great words, and most importantly, spoken at the right time. Moreover, these words are relevant today for all of humanity, for the whole world, in which the concepts of morality and morality are erased from the everyday vocabulary. And sometimes they are perceived as atavism.
Meryl Streep also addressed the press: “We need the press to call the authorities to account, to call them on the carpet for every outrage. That's why the Founding Fathers enshrined the press and its freedom in our Constitution. So I'm asking the Hollywood Foreign Press Association and everyone in our community to join me in supporting journalists. Because we need them. We need them to defend the truth."
It is quite remarkable that, based on numerous polls, Trump's insult to Serge Kowalewski was considered one of his worst offenses, which could have cost him the election. But that did not happen. As Forbes magazine wrote, it was "one of those moments, actions and statements that have seriously eroded the foundations of our nation's dignity and virtue in the past year."
Americans understand where everything is going and what the growing cynicism of the authorities can lead to. And therefore, more than ever, we need people like Meryl Streep, who with their words are able to stir up the hidden thoughts of a simple man in the street, make him think once again about his fate, about the fate of his country, realize his responsibility, and very possibly even be horrified by his rash choice . Fortunately for America, this country has a very high margin of safety and really existing mechanisms checks and balances from both a legal and social point of view.
We have always assumed that the concept of the intelligentsia is something unique to our part of the world, that in the West there are only intellectuals. But that's not true. Yes, in the West, in America for example, it is not customary to talk about the intelligentsia as a separate social class. But this does not mean its absence. After all, an intellectual is a person with a certain set of inherent qualities, with his own coordinate system, his own scale of moral values, an internal spiritual core, where the concepts of honor, dignity and citizenship occupy the main place. As Meryl Streep showed with her magnificent and even mesmerizing performance in its emotionality and sincerity, all these qualities are inherent in her. Both she and all those who supported her are true representatives of what, using the old terminology, can be called the American intelligentsia.
For the sake of objectivity, I would also like to note the following. Although Donald Trump cannot be considered one of the intelligentsia or even an intellectual, at this stage it would be incorrect for us to say that with his rule he will lead America to moral decline. Trump is the most unpredictable politician of our time, and it is difficult to say exactly what actions he will take once he takes office. Moreover, the words of politicians very often have nothing in common with his actions. Of course, words sometimes cause no less damage than actions. A carelessly spoken word, phrase, or remark can deeply wound, and sometimes destroy, the psychological integrity of a particular society. This is exactly what Trump has been doing all this time, whether intentionally or because of his inherent extreme looseness.
American power is not only the president, but also Congress, the courts, governors and state legislatures. The strength of power lies primarily in authority, respect for it, and dignity, finally. If the government is unworthy, then it is unable to ensure the dignity of the people and each individual citizen. And while the president has very strong counterweights within the government itself and the elites around it, as well as a powerful public opposition in its rightness, whose desires were so accurately expressed by Meryl Streep in her now historic speech, all is not lost for America. This country, without a doubt, is capable of overcoming all the problems facing it and once again becoming a reference point for all those people for whom honor, conscience, and dignity come first. And our dear and so close Meryl Streep has today become the conscience of the American nation, its true moral beacon.