In Game of Thrones, Ned Stark explains to his son, Bran, why he had to be the one to execute a man who broke his oath as a watchman of The Wall. The explains that the man who passes the sentence should swing the sword.
In the book A Game of Thrones, Ned explains his reasoning further. He says, “If you would take a man’s life, you owe it to him to look into his eyes and hear his final words. And if you cannot bear to do that, then perhaps the man does not deserve to die.”
For Ned it is all about taking responsibility for determining whether or not a man deserves to live or die. And if he decides he should die, he must be the one to carry out the sentence. By handing him off to an executioner, he wouldn’t have to bear the consequences of his decision.
It is easy to order the death of someone if you don’t have to get your own hands dirty. But if you have to see them kneel before you, shaking and pleading for their lives and be the one to have to swing the sword, you may think twice about whether or not a man really deserves to die. And a good leader (unlike Joffrey) will be more circumspect before just killing someone because it will weigh on their conscience.
While most of us won’t be executing deserters, this quote can apply to our sense of responsibility. We should always be willing to stand by our words. And if we cannot stand by what we say, we should reevaluate what we say to others.
