In every aspect of life, it’s important to have honor. In other words, the ends don’t justify the means. That is something that is demonstrated in this scene from The Karate Kid (1984).

Even a bully like Bobby Brown understands that there’s nothing honorable about what his sensei is telling him to do. Once he illegally hurts Daniel LaRusso in a way that prevents him from continuing in the tournament, Bobby immediately apologizes and feigns ignorance, as if it had been an accident, to try to save face.

If Daniel’s bullies had been able to get away with this “victory,” they would have always known that it wasn’t honorable. The trophy they received would be devoid of its normal meaning, and it would instead stand as a constant reminder of deception and dishonor.

That’s the thing about winning. If we do it with honor, we can hold our head up with pride, knowing that we did our best and it just so happened to be the best. In addition, if we lose with honor, we can hold our head up with that same pride, knowing that we still did our best. That includes both when our opponent acts in good faith and when they cheat.

It’s much easier to be proud of our performance when our opponent wins fair and square. Someone else was just better than us. However, if the other person cheats to win, their infamy will one day be exposed, and we will know that they’ll never be truly at peace with their choices. Thus, they might benefit in the short term, but it won’t last, and they’ll always know they didn’t deserve to win.

Seeking to put someone “out of commission” so we don’t have to match our skills against them means we are afraid of them. We’re afraid we’re not good enough. Rather than finding out, if we seek an easier way around the competition, our victory will be hollow, and we’ll always know that we didn’t deserve it.

Perhaps there’s a lesson in that for each of us and the world in general.

This is the Deja Reviewer bidding you farewell until we meet again.

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