Real Courage
Real Courage!
Today it is hard to find a person with real courage in public life or private. It doesn’t take any courage to go along with what the powers that be profess or advocate. So many dittobrainiacs just parrot what right-wing neo-cons and our president say. They take it at face value and never stop to think or reason through the truth or validity of what they hear. No, they just go for the cheap machismo and media bravado on Sunday morning talk shows that pass for courage these days. It’s the same people at work who fawn over everything the boss says just because he is in a position of authority over them and they seek to gain favor by agreeing with anything that is said regardless of the ethics involved. They show no intelligence or integrity by using critical thinking and questioning what is told them. Courage is not office tough-guys being cheer-leaders for opportunist politicians and demagogue talk show hosts. It takes someone who puts their money where their mouth is and personally takes the risk to stand for what they believe by advocating and giving themselves to the cause they say they support. For all those chicken-hawks who fully support this war yet refuse to volunteer or serve for it, you have no courage. You are frauds! That includes our present neo-con politicians and media types who have never been willing to sacrifice their lives for anything other than money, fame and power. They advocate the violent takeover of world resources and cultures but refuse to do any of the necessary dirty work that they send others to do and die for. They have no moral authority to force other citizens to do anything they refuse to do themselves.
I remember a guy in second grade standing up to the class bully one day on the way home from school concerning the picking on of a smaller class mate. This guy looked like he could shave in the second grade and was twice the size of his nemesis. The little guy didn’t back down in defense of his friend. He was wiry and willing to take on anyone regardless of his chances of success. Even though he was beaten badly and ended up being dragged down the sidewalk as he still held his legs around the big guys waste in a scissors lock and refused to give up. He was much like a little dog who fights any other dog that comes in his yard. Dogs have no understanding of proportion and probability of success. All they know is they will defend their territory regardless of the consequences. I respect the courage of those kinds of people. Brut power and winning battles doesn’t automatically grant you respect and legitimacy in the eyes of the world. We need more politicians and citizens who understand that today. Cindy Sheehan is a good example of courage. Many others exist but are not held up by our media or society as courageous people. Democrats could us some of those types today. You will never succeed until you are willing to sacrifice all for what you believe. You can’t hedge your bets and expect others to follow. You have to risk it all. That is why so many Muslims are considered courageous within their society. They give it all to their cause. That is not to say I agree with their cause but they are willing to sacrifice all just like the Japanese kamikaze pilots in WWII. They knew they were going against a far superior force and going to die but still went ahead.
Cowards are abundant and running our country. Courageous leaders are hard to find. Some have shown great courage in the military or other areas in their young lives but unwilling to risk the security of their money, fame and power later on to follow through with a continued life of service. Some devoutly religious followers of Christ mock their savior and call him a liar by supporting lying politicians who wage unnecessary foreign wars that kill thousands of innocent civilians. They also wage campaigns against the poor in their own country and use the name of Christ when doing it. They are called hypocrites.
It takes no courage to cheer lead those fake political Christians who slander the teachings of Christ. We need a “John the Baptist type leader” today to proclaim the truth and be willing to sacrifice his head for the cause of truth and justice rather than ones who would further enrich the well off and continue the build up of the huge military industrial complex in order to wage war and rule the world. Power that is not used for justice and compassion to help all those around the world survive is evil. We as a country should not be a part of it. We should realize that is why much of the world hates us. We have drifted so far from what out founders intended it is shameful. One very wise man once said, “If you gain the whole world but lose your soul what good is it?” That is a good question and one we should be asking more and more. Show courage and stand up to bully’s even if they are part of your own family or country. We have a higher calling as Christians. Be still and know.
Today it is hard to find a person with real courage in public life or private. It doesn’t take any courage to go along with what the powers that be profess or advocate. So many dittobrainiacs just parrot what right-wing neo-cons and our president say. They take it at face value and never stop to think or reason through the truth or validity of what they hear. No, they just go for the cheap machismo and media bravado on Sunday morning talk shows that pass for courage these days. It’s the same people at work who fawn over everything the boss says just because he is in a position of authority over them and they seek to gain favor by agreeing with anything that is said regardless of the ethics involved. They show no intelligence or integrity by using critical thinking and questioning what is told them. Courage is not office tough-guys being cheer-leaders for opportunist politicians and demagogue talk show hosts. It takes someone who puts their money where their mouth is and personally takes the risk to stand for what they believe by advocating and giving themselves to the cause they say they support. For all those chicken-hawks who fully support this war yet refuse to volunteer or serve for it, you have no courage. You are frauds! That includes our present neo-con politicians and media types who have never been willing to sacrifice their lives for anything other than money, fame and power. They advocate the violent takeover of world resources and cultures but refuse to do any of the necessary dirty work that they send others to do and die for. They have no moral authority to force other citizens to do anything they refuse to do themselves.
I remember a guy in second grade standing up to the class bully one day on the way home from school concerning the picking on of a smaller class mate. This guy looked like he could shave in the second grade and was twice the size of his nemesis. The little guy didn’t back down in defense of his friend. He was wiry and willing to take on anyone regardless of his chances of success. Even though he was beaten badly and ended up being dragged down the sidewalk as he still held his legs around the big guys waste in a scissors lock and refused to give up. He was much like a little dog who fights any other dog that comes in his yard. Dogs have no understanding of proportion and probability of success. All they know is they will defend their territory regardless of the consequences. I respect the courage of those kinds of people. Brut power and winning battles doesn’t automatically grant you respect and legitimacy in the eyes of the world. We need more politicians and citizens who understand that today. Cindy Sheehan is a good example of courage. Many others exist but are not held up by our media or society as courageous people. Democrats could us some of those types today. You will never succeed until you are willing to sacrifice all for what you believe. You can’t hedge your bets and expect others to follow. You have to risk it all. That is why so many Muslims are considered courageous within their society. They give it all to their cause. That is not to say I agree with their cause but they are willing to sacrifice all just like the Japanese kamikaze pilots in WWII. They knew they were going against a far superior force and going to die but still went ahead.
Cowards are abundant and running our country. Courageous leaders are hard to find. Some have shown great courage in the military or other areas in their young lives but unwilling to risk the security of their money, fame and power later on to follow through with a continued life of service. Some devoutly religious followers of Christ mock their savior and call him a liar by supporting lying politicians who wage unnecessary foreign wars that kill thousands of innocent civilians. They also wage campaigns against the poor in their own country and use the name of Christ when doing it. They are called hypocrites.
It takes no courage to cheer lead those fake political Christians who slander the teachings of Christ. We need a “John the Baptist type leader” today to proclaim the truth and be willing to sacrifice his head for the cause of truth and justice rather than ones who would further enrich the well off and continue the build up of the huge military industrial complex in order to wage war and rule the world. Power that is not used for justice and compassion to help all those around the world survive is evil. We as a country should not be a part of it. We should realize that is why much of the world hates us. We have drifted so far from what out founders intended it is shameful. One very wise man once said, “If you gain the whole world but lose your soul what good is it?” That is a good question and one we should be asking more and more. Show courage and stand up to bully’s even if they are part of your own family or country. We have a higher calling as Christians. Be still and know.
posted by T. Glenn Hall at 8:08 AM
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