Reflections on Courage

Character Counts. Courage May be the Most Important Component Today

So, I Had This Idea

 I decided a couple of weeks ago that the subject of Courage would be a suitable topic for this posting, the last one before election day. As you will see shortly, my focus was to be, and still partly is, on courage by election officials and judges.

But things happen. Last week, the billionaire owners of two of the country’s largest newspapers, the LA Times and the Washington Post, interfered with editorial autonomy at the very last minute and cancelled endorsements by both papers for VP Harris. Here was a first row demonstration of cowardice and unimaginable selfishness. Many have written about this already. I am providing a link to the thoughts of Steven Beschloss, one of the best things you will read on this travesty.
https://www.americaamerica.news/p/how-important-is-courage?utm_campaign=email-half-post&r=a5bg&utm_source=substack&utm_medium=email

We will talk again later, about media and about the power of billionaires. We have some serious thinking to do and some issues to address, America. For now, let’s just recognize this is as bad a decision one could imagine, at a bad time. This is bending the knee to a would be tyrant. They have told him they are easily intimidated and will toe the line.

I am without a Washington Post subscription for the first time in many decades. That will make no difference to Jeff Bezos, and I will miss many fine columnists, but I cannot be complicit in what is now the third strike (following a year of weird, wondering editorials and hiring a Murdoch protégé to be chief of the paper’s operations).

I am looking at the Boston Globe or Philadelphia Inquirer as substitutes. Hoping some of those famous Post columnists will find the courage to move to other outlets. Easy for me to say, but there is that courage thing again.

 Courage Observed Up Close and Personal

Courage has always been a subject of personal interest to me. I had the honor being a US Army combat arms officer for a long time and I saw the value of courage over and over. For most of those situations, I am referring to physical courage. In the current context, that is a factor as well (threats to election officials and their families, for example), but more often we refer here to moral courage. No less important, not any easier to muster. Doing the right thing can be hard.

What Courage Is Not

 I find it interesting that people sometimes confuse courage with fearlessness – these are two very different states of mind. People who have faced real danger get it. Fearlessness means literally the absence of any fear. Those who serve in places like the armed forces know that is often a flawed state of mind and those who have it are to be avoided. They are more likely to get themselves or others killed.

Courage means someone fully understands the risks, has genuine fear of potential outcomes, but decides the mission given to them is more important than the risk. They decide to do the right thing, knowing the costs could be high, be it death or political isolation.

 Courage in Many Forms

So, let us recognize that courage comes in many forms, in many venues. Speaking out against an angry crowd. Making a decision that is best for the country/town/group, in spite of great pressure and threats to force the opposite decision – or no decision at all. It is a sad thing that so often now, people making such decisions face not only social and political threats, but very real physical threats as well, often aimed at their families.

Courage can be leveraged for the wrong reasons, of course. Those who would assassinate a leader or bomb a voting cite sometimes think they also are doing something courageous, for a higher cause. Fortunately, that is a rarer occasion, although history tells us such thinking comes in waves over time. We are likely to look at more political violence for some time, much of it wearing a false cloak of courage.

But today, in this column, we call out and celebrate real courage.

In Our Nation Today, Courage in Full Bloom – And Painfully Absent

The good news is that we saw hundreds of people doing the right thing courageously, all over the country. Local election officials resisting all threats and pressures, doing their job right in service to us all. Judges making clear and crucial decisions to keep democracy on the rails, in spite of threats and pressures.

We saw countless cases of such courage in the elections of 2016, 2020, 2022 and will surely in 2024. A lot of people in election positions have quit or retired, not wanting to face this again. Understandable. But many are standing fast and are prepared to do the right thing again.

We owe such people much. If we are able to actually save this democracy, it will be in large measure because they took the risks and stood when called to serve. They contrast sharply with politicians who know how wrong Trump is, but they stay silent, and some publishers and business people, who stand silent about Trump, either fearing retribution or hoping for personal gain. We know who you are and we will not forget. For me, I will not forgive.

The Personal Conundrum – Most Do Not See It Coming

Here is the tricky part. Even among those who have experienced such situations before, the call for courage rarely advertises it is coming. People find themselves in unfamiliar territory, called upon to bear burdens they never imagined. For many, it will be a lonely moment, and one that will not give them much time to reflect.

A salute to the many who will do the right things for the right reasons. I think they will save the day in the end and will inspire us all.

The Time is Upon Us

OK, America – this is it. The next time we see each other in this space will be election day – only 7 days from today. In about a week, we shall know who we are as a people and what we are as a nation. It really is the most important election of our lives. Here’s hoping we are up to it.

Bill Clontz

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