Redtree Times

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I learned that courage was not the absence of fear, but the triumph over it. The brave man is not he who does not feel afraid, but he who conquers that fear.

–Nelson Mandela, Long Walk to Freedom (1995)

What is courage?

There are plenty of definitions, but the short answer is that it is doing what needs to be done– the right thing in most cases — even though you are scared and have much to lose by doing so.

We are living in a precarious and dangerous time that has been brought about by a lack of courage by those who have professed to be leading and representing us. And we the public went along for the ride for too long. The lack of courage in our leaders became our own. It was easy just to glide along, not having to rock the boat. As a result, we are in a serious deficit of courage in this country at the moment. What courage we once had had become slack and weak, like a muscle that has not been used for a very long time. 

Unfortunately, or perhaps tragically, it has brought us to a point where courage is needed more than any time most of us have ever known in our lifetimes.

I am encouraged by the recent stirrings of newly awakened courage among the public in response to the atrocities being perpetrated on the American public and the rest of the world by the criminal organization that has taken over our government. It is a matter of courage begetting courage. The courage of others inspires other to act courageously.

Encouragement– courage is right here in the word.

This moment raises so many questions on the nature of our courage.

Can we muster enough courage to push back and stop the tides of tyranny?

Do we ever really know if we inherently possess the courage we’re going to need? Is it already placed within us, something written into our DNA that we can call on when needed? Or is courage something apart from us, a quality that is called to us when circumstances and time and place align? Or is it something we slowly attain with use and repetition, like the muscles I referenced above?

I don’t know the answers to these questions. Not even sure they can be answered by those with much more intelligence and wisdom than me. 

I do know that I have been both. More cowardly than courageous, actually.

I should give you examples, but I won’t. Mainly because I am not sure anything I’ve ever done qualifies as courage. 

And while there is doubt about my acts of courage, I won’t list my acts of cowardice because there is absolutely no doubt on that account. The shame and humiliation that comes with one’s own cowardice is an unmistakable stench that lingers with you. Plus, there are too many examples from which to choose.

Can you blame anyone for not wanting to list those times when they have been craven cowards?

Do we ever even know whether we have been courageous? Not all acts of courage are easily recognized or lauded whereas cowardice for some often comes with that stink I mentioned above. People eventually notice the coward.

Can a lifelong coward suddenly transform into a bastion of courage? Or are we forever labeled one or the other? Or is it as playwright Jean Anouilh wrote in his 1959 award-winning play Becket: 

Until the day of his death, no man can be sure of his courage.

Lots of questions without answers. Maybe this is how the cowardly avoid facing their fears. It’s worked for me on the past.

But maybe as Anouilh infers, so long as each of us walk this earth, there is still time for any person to see the light and change their final label from cowardly to courageous. 

I sure hope so. Who wants to be known as a coward for all eternity?

That’s just plain bad karma to carry with you for the rest of time.

Here’s a performance of a song that has been dogging my thoughts over the past several months. It’s a cover from several years ago of the 2003 song from the White Stripes, Seven Nation Army. This version is from Postmodern Jukebox featuring the mega-talented Haley Reinhart. They have transformed this generational rock anthem whose bassline is chanted endlessly in football stadiums around the country into a New Orleans-style funeral dirge. Haley Reinhart’s performance here is extraordinary. The subtle choreography of her gestures and facial expression along with her vocal range and the ease with which she belts out the words make this a tour-de-force.

And that is what we need right now, a tour-de-force, one that a seven-nation army can’t hold back. Let us all be encouraged.