Sometimes people take a bold, emphatic, public
stance regarding a matter and act as if they are being courageous. And yet the
position for which they are taking their stance is actually a fairly popular
position. If this is the case, their bold, emphatic, public stance is not a
genuine act of courage.
Yes, the person is standing up for his/her beliefs and
that may be commendable. I’m simply pointing out that if the belief is fairly
popular then the stance does not represent a great act of courage. Doing
popular things and supporting popular issues is not an example of courage.
When a person takes a bold, emphatic, public stance
on a position which is unpopular, however, that is different. Now, we are
talking courage. Please understand, I’m not even suggesting that this unpopular
stance means the person is correct. It depends on what the person is standing
for. I’m simply pointing out a distinction regarding our understanding of
courage that doesn’t always seem to be recognized, these days.
If we’re going to talk about courage, let’s at least
understand what it is. Making a big show by standing for something popular does
not require courage. Standing for something which is unpopular is what requires
courage.
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