my brothers

i just read aloud my creed to you. i have realized that i may not be living up to what i just said. my brothers i know all of you had to make a creed, but how many of you live it? i know that there are sometimes that i have not, and realize that i should. is there something we can learn from this?

i think there is. not only is my creed important to me, it is your responsibility as my brother to honor and respect that. but does it just stop there? no.

as a brother in this fraternity we have committed ourselves to upholding what we have found important in a high-minded man and individual.

since when is a high-minded man a critic? when is he arrogant, self-serving, insensitive, and apathetic? better yet what part of the Jordan Standard do any of these traits apply to? how about the Spirit or the Creed? so why do we act this way?

have we lost sight of what being a Sig is about? why? what is the determining factor? a friend told me the other day that Sigma Chi does not provide the answers, it simply supplies the questions. well here is one answer that is does supply, the determining factor is you. i know that this might sound accusatory and i am sorry. i know that i am just as much at fault as you, and it is my pledge to you that i will try and live up to my own creed and the creed of Sigma Chi. would you make that same pledge to me? to your brothers?

we are losing sight of what we are here for. it hurts me to see some guys almost in tears because of the way that people in this Fraternity treat them. i am sorry to come to you today in a manner that is completely unpleasant, but sometimes unpleasantness is what is needed. i challenge you to reflect upon yourselves, assess within your lives that you are living by your creed, if not i challenge you to do so. if you do not have one, i challenge you to make one. if you feel that you live your creed, maybe you should tailor it because it is what we are striving for. it needs to be an unreachable goal that will improve upon your life and lives of others.

find the man in the glass, is this how he is supposed to be, is this how you want him to be, and is he happy? could you be proud of this man? is he proud of you? if you are struggling with any of the questions i have asked you today, recognize this, and try and change. this also applies to me because i have trouble answering some of these myself.

my brothers it is time for us to renew within ourselves the values and ideals that set us apart from all other men and live them. we need to embrace the differences amongst us, for that is why we were founded. change, everything changes and i believe that it is our time as well. i know we still have in us what others saw to invite us into this Fraternity. let us live that and in doing so we shall improve the lives of not only ourselves but everyone whom we interact with.