Tim Byrd quotes, while discussing pulp adventure fiction (and Spirit of the Century, thus the mention by Doyce), the Doc Savage code.
For those unaware, Doc Savage was one of the great pulp fiction heroes of the 30s-40s, a two-fisted science hero battling gangsters, mad scientists, and foreign powers with his gang of trusted comrades.
Kids who followed Doc’s pulp magazine adventures, or the radio show, or comics, could join (of course) the Doc Savage club. And when you did, you got a membership card with the Doc Savage code on the back:
- Let me strive, every moment of my life, to make myself better and better, to the best of my ability, that all may profit by it.
- Let me think of the right, and lend all my assistance to those who need it, with no regard for anything but justice.
- Let me take what comes with a smile, without loss of courage.
- Let me be considerate of my country, of my fellow citizens and my associates in everything I say and do.
- Let me do right to all, and wrong no man.
I don’t recall, in the Doc Savage tales I’ve read, this code ever being specifically stated, of course, but there’s nothing there that really stands in opposition to anything that Doc and his crew stood for or did (there’s no mention of shipping criminals off to an upstate asylum for brain-fixing, but that’s an implementation detail).
I just thought that was a pretty neat code. It’s outward-facing in most of its items; except for #3, everything is couched around service to one’s fellows, as opposed to self-actualization or personal freedom. #1 comes the closest to that, but the final clause makes it clear that self-improvement is as much for others as for oneself. Even #3 is as much about how to remain able to follow through on the other items as anything else.
It’s an interesting peek into a mindset of the time, but it’s also a social code that wouldn’t be bad to follow today.
Good analysis! I’m three-quarters convinced morals need to benefit both society and the individual. That’s a tough balancing act sometimes.
I think for much of history, the focus on morals has been outward, related to duty, obligations toward deities and toward society. There was a huge paradigm shift starting in the Enlightenment but really coming to fruition in the 20th Century of morals focusing on the individual, personal freedom and growth. That filled in a necessary gap, but it’s arguable that the pendulum swung a bit far in that direction, as duties to those around us (family, society, “associates”) became passe and even seen as a negative. As you note, a balance somewhere in the middle needs to be found.
I have all the original pulps. The Library of Congress has all but three original pulps but I have those too. It was in the original magazine itself that you would find the Doc Savage Code. I think the rest of the original stories should be reprinted as well. I think it was a great time in history that may never be repeated in terms of unity and work ethic. Of course, no time in history is perfect and the racial issues were one example of the serious problems faced by those living in the 30s, 40s, and 50s – little different than the issue of slavery in the 18th century. Yet a nation was founded on solid principles.