Vice and Virtue IV - Courage

"Those who expect to reap the blessings of freedom must, like men, undergo the fatigue of supporting it."
- Thomas Pain

In the previous "Vice and Vurtue" articles, I have written about responsibility, loyalty, and wisdom.

Next, I will discuss courage.

While we might say that courage is simply the ability to overcome fear, it is my intention to give in a narrower, but more positive definition - one that makes it a true virtue.
Courage is the ability to overcome fear, in order to do what's right.

Overcoming the fear of the law in order to strike down an old lady and steal her jewlery, is not courage.
Neither is raiding a caravan for pillage and slaves.
Bold action, as a part of a bad deed, is not courage, because leading to that action, are reasons stemming from fear:
In the case of criminal activity, it is the fear of one's own survival, of never achieving anything meaningful without breaking the law.
In the case of political activity, it is the fear of losing one's career.

As it did not take great courage to be a Nazi in 1930s Germany, or murder helpless Jews in death camps, so does it not take much courage to further islam in this day and age. Back then, it took great courage to shelter a Jewish family, or join the resistance in occupied France. Our challenge is light in comparison - to expose the deceitful ways of those who had erased entire cultures, and would destroy our countries, whether in the name of islam, communism, or any other incarnation of tyranny.

Every bureaucrat, every politician, general, professor, artist, or journalist who justifies the crimes of islam, and blames them on its victims; who takes their dirty oil money to become another puppet and front for their lies; who stomps on the liberties and speech of his own countrymen, who dare to stand in its path of destruction - is a coward.
To say the least.

It is an imaginary character - Saruman the white, first among the wizards of Tolkien's Middle Earth - who exemplifies the temptation of those in power to turn their color, to save their own skin and position, in the face of a seemingly unstoppable enemy.
That enemy, coincidentally, was also stopped by courage.

As much as our turncoats rationalize and justify their behavior, there is nothing behind it but plain cowardice - the refusal to make a stand, take the unpopular route, and face the risks. It is quite easier to blame America, or Israel, or the Illuminati, for that matter. Anyone who isn't likely to put a fatwa on you, and stab you in the middle of the street for drawing a mediocre cartoon of a pedophiliac mass murderer.

It may take courage to be a human rights activist who protects Christians in Africa, but absolutely none to help Arab invaders in their occupation of Jewish land, or join a terrorist ship, and face Israeli commandos armed with paintball guns.
On the other hand, it takes courage to be those commandos, or any soldier of the civilized world, who risks his life and limb, while obeying absurd rules of engagement*. They do not break ranks - neither should we. The mere act of standing up for what's right, even when it is not popular; calling out the lies we are all told every day, by those who claim to be our leaders, our educators, our betters; and simply not following the brainwashed crowd - is courageous enough. The American revolution did not start with gunpowder and a musket-ball, but with the burning heat of fiery of words.

As Daniel Greenfield wrote on Wanted: Men and Women of Courage:
"Courage is not simply rushing into a fire, it is also defying convention and conformity. One man with courage makes a majority, because courage rests in holding to ideals rather than bowing to the majority. And that is what we need. Men and women with the courage to go on defying conformity and speak out for what is right."

One person, with courage, is an army, because courage, like laughter, is contagious: it invigorates, strengthens, and fills others with alacrity. It unites us, and brings us all together to perform deeds greater than we would have ever thought of doing on our own.

But courage does not reside only in the realm of grand things - it is tested frequently in our daily lives: whether it is your kid facing a bully in school, a friend who's about to go into business with the wrong people, or a co-worker getting blamed for someone else's doing, there is always the dillema, and the fear of taking action.

So let courage prevail, and let it supply the vital energy that is required to preserve our wisdom, maintain our loyalties, and fulfill our responsibilities. Like Samuel Johnson once said, "courage is the greatest of all virtues, because if you haven't courage, you may not have an opportunity to use any of the others".

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* The most extreme case I can think of is that of a UK soldier who took a shot to the head, in order to avoid firing at a terrorist that used a girl for a shield. Commendable, perhaps, but extremely foolish. His own son needed a father with an intact skull, not a hero. Thankfully, his helmet worked better than his brain.

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Next Virtue: Justice