By David Hegg Recently, I finished a great book recounting the exploits of Dog Company, the Army Rangers who led the assault up the cliffs on D-Day, and accomplished the invasion’s most demanding mission. Their story is one of grit, strength and great sacrifice, and it reminded me that America once had a culture of honor.   It is devastating to realize how far we have fallen as we read and listen to today’s news. We no longer make heroes of those who shoulder the burdens of life and  go on resolutely running the race set before them. We no longer count it honorable to persevere through the slights and disappointments of life with a tough-skin attitude. We no longer teach our children the reality that others will not always appreciate their point of view and that insults, criticism, and disagreement are part and parcel of living in this chaotic world, and they had better learn how to let things bounce off them.   Simply put, we’ve stopped believing it is better to be controlled by who we are and what we believe than to forever respond with outrage to every little grievance that hits us.   We’ve given up a culture of honor to become a society of victims. While we used to be people who soldiered on through the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune, we now applaud those who cry out as victims against anything that hurts, disappoints, or offends them.   We’ve become so soft, sensitive, and emotionally sunburned that the cries and whining of the offended have become our battle song. Gone are the days when we knew we were never promised a rose garden and understood the necessity of being tough enough to persevere through life’s inevitable challenges.   But not today. Today, the most pronounced right many hold and fight for is the right never to be offended, slighted, hurt, or ignored.    Our dreadful slide into this silly narcissistic shallowness of character began years ago when we insisted that self-esteem precedes accomplishment. I remember when my children were in elementary school, every child got an award and was told they were outstanding. Generation after generation grew up believing they were the center of a universe that was now responsible for making sure they never had to encounter any pain or in any way be disadvantaged or offended. And now we are reaping the soul-weakening results of that ill-conceived philosophy.  Are there people in our world who are victims and need to be helped? Of course, the burgeoning field of pseudo-victims is a huge threat to them. The societal power that once was delegated to true victims who persevered through their trials with grace and honor is now being co-opted by those who manufacture offenses and masquerade as the wrongly wounded.    At the bottom of our surging society of victimhood is an ethical breach. Those who genuinely suffer should be helped toward restoration. But, sadly, now victimhood has become the stuff of reparation. To be offended and claim suffering today can be the means to money, power, and status, regardless of how sincere the claim may be.   As I read “Dog Company” by Patrick D. O’Donnell, I felt proud that America had produced such a fine group of courageous, humble men. I also had to fight the dread that we no longer do so. But all is not lost … yet.   I hope that this era of pseudo-victimhood will be short-lived. I continue to believe rank-and-file Americans understand that one key to a healthy society is the ability of individuals to flush the small stuff, bear the daily onslaught of circumstance courageously, and, above all, replace the selfish desire to gain from others’ mistakes with a passionate desire fix our own.  Call me idealistic, if you will, but history is on my side. Over time, strong character, honesty, courage and selflessness almost always win out. Let’s hope the trend continues.  Local resident David Hegg is senior pastor of Grace Baptist Church. “Ethically Speaking” appears Sundays.  The post David Hegg | Courage Worth Honoring appeared first on Santa Clarita Valley Signal. ...read more read less