Today if two men wanted to duel to resolve an argument, most people would be scandalized.
However during Hamilton’s time, dueling was a sophisticated way of guarding one’s honor and was a common practice.
The Broadway smash musical Hamilton contains a fascinating song with the 10 rules and protocols for dueling.
The interesting thing about dueling is that the very thing that gave rise to its prevalence (defending one’s honor) ultimately became the death (pardon the pun) of dueling.
However, we still carry around the same grudges that caused people to shoot one another and it’s those grudges that should die — not people.
Today, let’s unpack how a fear of being ostracized from the herd causes people to obsess about their reputation and honor (with the right people — that is).