Hobbes got me down.

"Nothing is more easily broken than a man's word" -Thomas Hobbes. I'm not sure if I entirely agree with this little tidbit, but it certainly is interesting. It's easy to boast of being "a man of your word" when nothing is at stake, but what happens when you get tested? It's easy to waver. Extremely small scale example: today, I told myself I was going to run three miles. By the time I got to 2.5, I was a sweaty, panting mess and I figured, who's gonna care if I just stop now? It's not like this was set in stone. I'm still here, running. I did most of the work. Who cares what "I said" I would do. There I was, fully capable of finishing, but fully willing to go back on my word with just that bit of opposition--a little fatigue and I was ready to give it up. Sometimes, it's not just fatigue that tests the strength of our word. Sometimes we're faced with much more. And we figure really, what is possibly hurt from changing your mind? A little respect? Sometimes not even that. And in comparison to the challenges and tests with which we're faced, do we really hold the value of our word more highly than things we cherish--our reputation, our ambition, our well-being, our life? I believe that every man has a breaking point. Every man has a point where his word no longer means a thing. We reach a point where we're ready to deny our word, everything we are, if only to achieve our goals. We are only human, after all. It's all a matter of being pushed. Maybe it's the fourth, or fifth, or even sixth mile. Maybe it's a secret waiting to be spilled. Maybe it's more. I'd like to find a man whose word isn't easily broken. I'd like to find a man who proves Hobbes' pessimistic view of human nature false. Because if he's right, then how can we live with one another, how can we look each other in the eye, convinced there is something more important than self-interest?