[November 18, 2015] No, we are not brave! This may come as a shock to many but nearly every person I’ve ever met, whether in the military or in civilian life, are cowards and so am I. We put up a good front … of course … and we do this by talking big, owning cool stuff, and belonging to respected organizations. But deep down we are a bunch on pansies waiting for some tough guy to scare the bejeebers out of us. Are we brave? I’m surprised that I even have to ask the question.
The average person living in the Western world has so little experience with the concepts of bravery or cowardice that they have given it little thought and have had no contact with someone who has shown either. Some exceptions to those of us cowards do exist and can be found anywhere but most likely in the military combat arms, line police officers and firemen, and in those with significant leadership experience.
Whoa, hold on there! We can understand the idea of the military, police, and firemen being brave but we’ve all been told that the connection of leadership to bravery is a fairy tale. The fact is, however, that someone who has been in a leadership position, and has been successful, is probably a brave (morally courageous) and resilient person to have survived the personal and professional attacks that come with the job. They are tested repeatedly and have to personally struggle to maintain their positions.
What about gays who’ve “come out” of hiding their sexual preferences? What about those in the BlackLivesMatter movement? What about the protesters at the Republican (or Democratic) presidential debates? Are they brave? Frankly, my dear, no they are not. Let’s not conflate people not liking you for what you do or what you say with bravery or cowardice. Western nations have laws the prohibit violence or discrimination, and furthermore, those same nations are very culturally accepting.
For the very egocentric Americans out there, take a stroll someplace that doesn’t have those laws or culture and see how long it takes for someone to act against you. There are still places in Central and South American where you will simply disappear (nice word for being tortured, killed, and then chopped up to feed the fishes). It’s a tough world. Regardless of what we think and what we want, the world is still a tough place. Don’t be a coward.
But all is not lost. Prior to World War II, the average American was described as a physical weakling, a coward, untrustworthy, and uneducated. Today we refer to them as the “greatest generation” of our time. When the time calls for people to stand up and be counted among those who must sacrifice for the good of our country, Americans will do exactly that. Like the cowardly lion in The Wizard of Oz movie, all of us have the ability to be brave.
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Note: For another view of this, see: Leader Trends: Are We Cowards? https://www.theleadermaker.com/leader-trends-cowards/