In Praise Of Dignity

Did not we cast three bound into the midst of the fire?  

Daniel 3:24

Of all the tributes that have been paid to Chadwick Boseman, 43-year-old star of the Hollywood mega-hit The Black Panther who died last Friday, none was more compelling than the one paid by Wesley Morris in the New York Times.  Morris contends that in the various roles that he played, Boseman achieved a rare and difficult feat: he made "dignity interesting."  I have been chewing on that idea since I read it. One of its troubling implications is the recognition that in far too many circles, dignity is uninteresting. 

What is dignity?  According to one definition, it is bearing conduct or speech indicative of self-respect.  To exhibit dignity is to carry oneself with a certain poise.  To exhibit dignity is to leave the impression that you are guided by an internal set of standards that are not determined or defined by your environment.  To exhibit dignity is to be free from the need of approval, validation or applause.

What is dignity? Dignity is the janitor who shines his shoes and the cashier in the cafeteria whose hair is braided in an impeccable bun. 

What is dignity? Dignity is the grandmother on the bus who wears stockings and the underpaid teacher who carries a briefcase.  

What is dignity?  Dignity is that something inside of you that just won't let you do "it," whatever "it" is: whether to surrender, conform, or pander. Dignity won't let you do it.

This is why dignity is never interesting, because it is based on self-discipline, self-control and self-respect, which are never and will never be popular values.  

It is clear to me that Boseman was able to play the heroic roles he did by tapping into the vast reservoirs of dignity that he obviously possessed.  Only after his death was it revealed that he was suffering from colon cancer while performing many of those roles.  To preserve in one's work and responsibilities in the face of such harrowing pain, and to do so without one word of complaint or appeal for pity requires an internal fortitude that only the dignified can muster.

Unfortunately, dignity is on life support.  Dignity is boring.  It doesn't get laughs or likes.  Rarely is dignity reposted.  Our world celebrates and rewards the lack of self-control, discipline, and respect.  But however unappreciated these virtues may be, they never go out of style, and will command admiration and appreciation in whatever world they appear.

The question at the beginning of this blog was raised by a King who threw three Hebrews boys into a fiery furnace to punish them for their refusal to bow to a statute of himself that had been erected.  While everyone else was bowing, these three boys were guided by self-discipline, self-control and self-respect.  Something inside of them just wouldn't let them do what everyone else was doing.  The King was expecting the boys to be immediately burned.  He was amazed that they were still standing!

And that my dear friends, is a picture of dignity!  To stand tall, even when bound.