Why did the French lose the battle/war?

To begin, I have no idea which battle or war I am talking about. It might have been World War I, or even before. I don't know if this is a real memory, but Nicolas seems to have had a theory. He blames it on the old French honor, and the silly red uniforms that French officers used to wear. Firstly, you'll get shot at pretty easily if you're wearing something bright red on the battlefield. Secondly, if you decide to be honorable about it and allow the enemy to fire the first shot, of course you're at a disadvantage. So yes, that is why the French lost the unidentified battle-war. Of course, he added, the French got smarter and changed out of their red uniforms and stopped letting themselves get shot at. What is the moral of the story?

What am I if honor is going the way of the dodo? Living is the process of dying.

What is the value of my honor? My integrity? Are my standards uncommonly high? Or am I just not of this world? I hate to bargain the way bargaining seems to be done -- a ridiculous demand, a ridiculous offer, and meeting in between at a reasonable price. I have tried being fair, and no one seems to care. They think that I am just giving my ridiculous offer, and they make ridiculous demands. Each hoping to profit a little more, each hoping to give a little less. I withdrew from the old game and started a new one, playing by the conventional rules. Ridiculous offer, ridiculous demand, and we'll meet somewhere on reasonable ground. It's like a scene out of Pretty Woman.

Things may be easier for me if I were Dutch. A friend tells me that in his country, people take responsibility of themselves, and no one else. You don't ask for personal loans, you don't ask your friend to be your reference, and in the extreme case, you and your dad sign a contract for the car loan that you took from him. The interest was a number in between what he could have made putting the money in the bank, and what you would have to pay the bank. It's fair. I wish the world was run along such clear guidelines. But no one else lives like that, not here, not where I come from. When does trust meet honor? Where do I belong if I like such strange rules?