The Lone Ranger's Creed: Remembering the Masks We Wear

With our weekly Psychiatry & Society video taking a winter break, we bring back some of the greatest hits that are timely and continue to relate to current and uprising societal events of psychological interest. Take today’s story, for instance...

As Halloween is approaching, and given the Halloween tradition of costuming, it seems only fitting to repost a prior video on my masks and masking, "The Masks We Wear." The video starts with me as the masked Lone Ranger devoted to justice, which reminded me of the “Cowboy Creed” of:

“If it ain’t right, don’t do it. If it ain’t true, don’t say it. If it ain’t yours, don’t take it."

There is also a specific Lone Ranger’s Creed by Fran Striker:

1. I believe that to have a friend, a man must be one.

2. That all men are created equal and that everyone has within himself the power to make this a better world.

3. That God put the firewood there, but that every man must gather and light it himself.

4. In being prepared physically, mentally, and morally to fight when necessary for that which is right.

5. That a man should make the most of what equipment he has.

6. That ’this government, of the people, by the people, and for the people,’ shall live always.

7. That men should live by the rule of what is best for the greatest number.

8. That sooner or later . . . somewhere . . . somehow . . . we must settle with the world and make payment for what we have taken.

9. That all things change, but the truth, and the truth alone lives on forever.

10. I believe in my Creator, my country, my fellow men.

Perhaps somewhere there is a code for women, a Cowgirl Code. If you know of one let us know.

Dr Moffic is an award-winning psychiatrist who has specialized in the cultural and ethical aspects of psychiatry. A prolific writer and speaker, he received the one-time designation of Hero of Public Psychiatry from the Assembly of the American Psychiatric Association in 2002. He is an advocate for mental health issues related to climate instability, burnout, Islamophobia, and anti-Semitism for a better world. He serves on the Editorial Board of Psychiatric Times™.