By Ruth A. Sheets
We do not effectively honor those who are courageous, but we cover the cowards with incredible fanfare. We give attention nearly every day to those breaking the law and sometimes the consequences. Trump's cowardly, illegal actions make the news, but somehow, can't publicly be called illegal, unconstitutional, or well, cowardly.
We give a day here and there to honor courage as with the nation’s 9/11 commemorations earlier this month. The media, though, just had to present Trump's lies about himself being at Ground Zero that day. Because he couldn’t speak at the New York City commemoration, Trump spoke at the Pentagon’s where he rambled on with nothing of value to contribute to the event. He just had to be front and center anyway. That is not courage!
We are learning some lessons during Trumplandia II that we do need to act on/respond to.
First: there are many heroes in our nation, people willing to stand up for what is right, for our Constitution, for our people. We should appreciate them and celebrate them more often.
Second: Some people who faced with a disaster, will jump in to save others with no thought or expectation of honors, acknowledgement, even survival. At the very least, those heroes should be honored for their courage, but not presented as though such heroic actions are so rare that they are hardly ever seen.
Third: Many people have opportunities to be courageous, but choose not to be, because their current position is lucrative for themselves and taking a courageous position might interfere with that. Others act anyway; that’s courage!
Fourth: Heros and cowards both are examples for others. It behooves us as a nation to promote the heroes as valuable neighbors, then lessen the influence of the cowards who can’t act for the good of anyone beyond themselves, the cowardice only mentioned in passing. Each day, every newscast, radio, TV, and online, should present at least one positive/courageous action of someone or group in the community, doing something that has helped others, made the community better, stood up for people’s rights.
Fifth: Being a judge with integrity in the age of Trump is difficult. Having one's decisions mocked, constantly appealed, and threatened is stressful, and for no reason other than that a bunch of Trumpian lawyers have been hired by someone, probably the American people, to help make their Donald Trump a king and those cowardly lawyers wealthier and more powerful. Those judges’ courage is amazing!
Sixth: despite what many think, courage is not just for men in the military and sports. Anyone can be courageous, even in small ways. Nonviolent courage in standing against those who would do harm to others, take away people’s rights, and protest wrong actions of those in leadership is especially powerful.
We really can do better. We can work together, stand together today, to slow the cowardly actions of too many who capitulate to Trump's whining threats to harm anyone who does not bow to him and kiss whatever he offers to their smooch-prepared lips. Here's to courage like that of Judge Talwani and the many others who have said "no" to an old man with dementia whose god complex has caused harm to far too many people here and abroad.
We all have within us the seeds of courage. We the People must water those seeds and provide them with a nourishing soil in which to grow. Significant coverage of our heroic people today and in our past can increase the chances for those precious seeds of courage to germinate in all of us, but particularly in our young people. We need this courage now at least as much as at any time in our past, so let’s promote and nourish it and direct it toward peace, caring, love, and service.
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