The Ides Of Taxes Are Upon You

[filkertom]

In other words, open thread. :)

Comments

[gridlore.livejournal.com]

From a "What aspect of Bushido are you" quiz. It's Chugo, which is the determination to do one's duty no matter the cost. That's me to a t.

[janet-coburn.livejournal.com]

It's most commonly associated with the ninja. The character is made up of two others that mean "blade" and "heart," which could either mean a heart as strong and powerful as a blade or the likelihood of getting a knife in your heart, depending on how you feel about ninjas.

[gridlore.livejournal.com]

I find it interesting, because the portion of the Ranger Creed that always meant the most to me were these lines:

Surrender is not a Ranger word.

Readily will I display the intestinal fortitude required to fight on to the Ranger objective and complete the mission though I be the lone survivor.

You can read the whole thing here:

http://www.ranger.org/rangerCreed.html

It's something I still strive to live by today.

[janet-coburn.livejournal.com]

After further study and reflection, it occurs to me that the kanji is not the exact one I remember from the ninja, though it is clearly related. The lower part of it is definitely "heart," but I was mistaken about the upper part being "blade." Still, the character is obviously a comment on the heart of a warrior, and perhaps the lines you quote from the ranger code capture it well.