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No, it was his dishonorable actions. Cannoli Send a noteboard - 26/07/2011 04:19:54 AM


Am I wrong?


You are not. However, that is only the motivation for what he did. The ACTIONS that led to his downfall were dishonorable actions, which he took mainly for the reasons you ascribe to him.

There is nothing remotely honorable about his warning Cersei, or refraining from telling Robert right away. As Robert's friend, his duty was to let him know about the fraud his wife was perpetrating on him and that it had caused the death of their foster father. As a loyal subject of the Seven Kingdoms, it was his duty to uphold the law and report treason, rather than concealing it. As the Hand of the King, it was his duty to enforce the laws and protect the king and the rightful succession, and punish treason, not give the traitors a head start!

The issue was never Ned's stupidity, it was his reasoning and motivations. You can't call Ned stupid for his actions because he was not trying to do the smartest thing, he was trying to avoid unpleasantness (i.e. Robert trying to kill the Lannisters, etc). Instead he facilitated a war that killed members of practically every noble family in the Seven Kingdoms.

Ned did not do the honorable thing in refusing Renly's offer or suggestion that they kick off the anti-Lannister coup early, rather, once again, he quailed at the idea of upsetting a loved one. Disturb Robert's rest? Oh, too bad for Robert! He's the damn king! His reign appears to have been one long exercise in self-indulgence, he can endure a little upset to right the wrongs being done to his kingdom which might have been avoided had Robert been a more attentive ruler and husband, rather than merely concerned with stuffing his face and screwing anything with a hole in it. Granted, he was right not trust Renly's motivations, but he shouldn't have trusted Littlefinger either. Prudence IS one of the cardinal virtues after all, and there is nothing dishonorable about keeping your mouth shut until you are in a position to do something effective.
Cannoli
“Tolerance is the virtue of the man without convictions.” GK Chesteron
Inde muagdhe Aes Sedai misain ye!
Deus Vult!
*MySmiley*
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Ned Stark's downfall wasn't his sense of honor - 25/07/2011 01:32:08 PM 1012 Views
agreed *NM* - 25/07/2011 01:38:48 PM 365 Views
Isn't protecting children a honorable obligation? *NM* - 25/07/2011 02:33:16 PM 301 Views
There are other ways to do that, and kids don't excuse law-breaking - 26/07/2011 03:14:29 AM 678 Views
I disagree - 25/07/2011 07:51:27 PM 880 Views
Doing right is more important than accumulating power - 26/07/2011 04:09:57 AM 883 Views
Sorry folks - 26/07/2011 06:30:37 AM 1729 Views
Ah, Cannoli. I've missed you. - 26/07/2011 09:35:00 PM 891 Views
Shoot again. - 27/07/2011 02:50:59 AM 798 Views
Damnit! - 25/07/2011 11:00:38 PM 736 Views
Re: Damnit! - 26/07/2011 06:32:57 AM 783 Views
I don't to know is the problem. - 26/07/2011 01:16:54 PM 764 Views
No, it was his dishonorable actions. - 26/07/2011 04:19:54 AM 906 Views
I don't see how our opinions on this are all that different.... - 26/07/2011 09:40:08 PM 843 Views
This again...sigh - 31/07/2011 06:29:54 PM 638 Views
Trusting people he had every reason to not trust was his downfall - 31/07/2011 07:34:24 PM 703 Views

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