Thursday, March 14, 2013

EXAMPLES OF COURAGE - (UPDATED 3/27, 3/29, 4/6, 12/1 & 12/6/2013 as well as 1/19, 2/15, 4/20, 6/18, 6/27 & 7/29/2014)!

Introduction:
Courage is described by Webster as mental or moral strength to venture, persevere and withstand danger, fear or difficulty and sometimes we tend to forget what it takes to act honorably in the face of tyranny, “whatever works” and even fairly instead of following the examples of cheering crowds urging us to do what’s expedient when we possess each and everyone, the ability to rise above mediocrity and chart a different path than the throngs that have gone before us have done and to set a different example for those after. However, instead of rising to the occasion, most take the “low” road to achieve a less than notable outcome and leave an opportunity that was before them no better than when placed in a position to make a difference; for example, in the life of a very, very young offspring that was entrusted in one's care, the choice was made to expose that young life to very, adult type action at a morally reprehensible age, for acceptance, and to be counted the same as all else, that would certainly not be displaying courageous action. This is an account of selected examples of those who when faced with certain circumstances, acted courageously, in the opinion of this Blogger, please follow.

Here are the Background Details:
Follow these selected examples for lessons from, which we can all learn from today, in no specific order:
  1. In 1776, the history of the U.S. A. records the actions of Founding Fathers and fellow Colonists in the original thirteen (13) Colonies when faced with “taxation without representation” took a courageous stand and declared their independence from Britain, not knowing how they would achieve that eventual outcome but defied the “Power” of the day and said this is unfair and eventually the desired outcome/objective was achieved. As takes place in such circumstances, when the process with its high ideals was enacted, they (the young Nation seekers) did not have the end written for them, but along the way they were assisted from unlikely sources, for example: France who joined in their cause and without whose assistance victory would not have been achieved in the manner that it was and not to be forgotten, the assistance of Native (or First) Americans who showed the Colonists how to survive when the “Power” of the day resorted (as such usually do) to ruthless methods to crush the “upstarts” seeking “FAIRNESS”.
  2. In 1961 Errol Walton Barrow, Premier of Barbados, sought to obtained independence from the Colonial Power through negotiation and in leading his centuries old Colony, (even sometimes called “little England” because in some circumstances the colonists there, historically were considered to be even more "British" than the Colonial "Power"), and in the end of these negotiations, he came away with the desired “independence” sought to allow his island nation to be counted among the countries of the day, now celebrated every November 30th and became its first Prime Minister as was started on that first independence in 1966. His nation felt, full of pride as he achieved a notable undertaking that united the entire Country. He convinced the Colonial power that it was in their best interest to give the island its right to chart it’s own course for the future, a right entitled by all that is often lost today by those who seek easy answers to difficult fiscal issues and to engage in tried and “true” old revenue sources (regardless of how reprehensible they are a society’s deep-seated values) and instead of seeking how to achieve the outcome needed by a paradigm shift they follow the same old pathways to the detriment of others who dare stand in their way and/or those whose lives are targeted for achieving the morally debase outcome.
  3. Likewise in 1947, Mohandas Gandhi, also sought independence from the Colonial power, through his famous non-violent approach, it was a process that was not easy and took approximately twenty-seven (27) years from the time he told his fellow countrymen to spin cloth for their own clothes instead of purchasing it from the Colonial power. He too did not know how his script would end, but he chose to persevere even in his native attire when granted the right to address those who symbolize the “ halls of power”, because he didn’t see it as inferior to present himself as he saw himself (or his fellow countrymen saw him). He also wanted the “Powerbrokers” to realize that he, more importantly did not see himself any less significant because his national attire was different from those he sought to achieve “liberty” for his people from, and he succeeded.
  4. What if the “Gipper” in 1979 had said three times was enough and decided that three (3) tries was sufficient, I am going to be too old to attempt to capture the highest elected office in the land, and had decided not to try, but he did not take the easy road, into a life of ease on the ranch, but chose instead to seek higher office “one more time” and in his fourth attempt, he found success even being elected at age 69. Had he chosen not to persevere, he would have lost his opportunity to (against his own Staff’s recommendation) call on the then Soviet Union to “tear down these walls” and challenge them on many levels (for example economically and militarily) that in many ways led to the collapse of a dying system. He chose to follow the path of his boyhood hero and took a courageous stand when he needed to, that defied the conventional wisdom and his actions are recorded in history and discussed about, what type of impact they had, etc., but in the end they cannot deny that when his moment came, the “Gipper” chose to be different instead of expediency and left a fitting example to learn from.
  5. Accordingly, what if Susan B. Anthony had decided that women will never be allowed to vote, even though it’s unfair. She didn’t choose expediency, but instead decided to work hard at trying to eliminate a very unjust system against women of her day, such that she laid the groundwork for the eventual passing of Adult Suffrage laws that occurred in 1920, eighteen (18) years after her passing, showing that her cause, even though not achieved in her lifetime, was not in vain. This is an invaluable lesson, for our society that believes in now, today, easily obtained “credibility” at the expense of those who worked hard to achieve their accomplishments only to have them “snatched” away by "Johnny-come-lately” types seeking a “free ride” with no meaningful skills but only possessing the willingness to subject themselves to whatever sordid acts are required of them for the “easy” lifestyles they seek in exchange for contributing very little to the detriment of society, because it often leads to younger and younger adolescents either being lured and/or kidnapped and placed in such situations due to circumstances way beyond their control by those with questionable lifestyle choices and then being willing to either subject and/or being forced into circumstances, which result in them participating in the same types of adult type actions at earlier and earlier ages either by hapless or "weakened" parents and guardians or callous types who place the young lives they have been entrusted with into such a disgusting world and ensuing "cloak and dagger" lifestyle of "fleeting" and superficial "fame and fortune", which in reality is an illusion, because there is nothing "fortunate" about being "robbed" of one's childhood no matter how much trappings of "success" are wrapped around those who find themselves "trapped" in such lifestyles and the shame that comes with being forced to be a parent when a mere adolescent and a child oneself, it must be a demoralizing situation for a mere adolescent to find herself in at the hands of callous adults who think nothing "sinister" about such activity than to remove the young lives produced in such circumstances and set the victimized back to "work" in a "vicious looping" set of circumstances from. which there is seemingly no escape (see the post “HOW YOUNG IS TOO YOUNG (EDITED)?”) as well as THE LOOP THAT CAUSE TOO MUCH OF A "GOOD" THING TO GO BAD! for a discussion on the perils of even unplanned "looping" actions.
  6. The final example is from the Bible and it centers around the story of a LADY who when was faced with the unfair actions her countrymen were confronted with, that most certainly could have wiped out an entire generation chose to act honorably even when to do so meant placing herself in an unscripted situation. This is the Biblical account of Queen Esther and what she was confronted with in her desire to save her countrymen, who could have easily have chosen to seek safety for herself and silence for the cause of self-preservation but decided against it and rose courageously to seek “FREEDOM FOR ALL - UPDATED!” not just doing what was expedient for herself only. By taking her stand, Esther first of all placed her own life in grave danger as she identified with those who had been sentence to death. Next she defied convention by making her stand known in a situation when she dared not risk such an action for, which the King could have sealed her fate, but she decided that her cause was greater than her own life and challenged the existing convention and gained the freedom for all her countrymen from the King who didn't fully comprehend the action he had subjected an entire race of individuals too.                                 
The Implications and Lessons to be Learned:
These above examples depict individuals, who each in their own right exemplified Webster description in one manner or another and while each of us may not be placed in circumstances that could have been as significant in the same respect as the above individuals; however, if we examine our lives we may find that our responsibility may involve some action we may think is meaningless, but actually involves molding a young life to years of meaningful activity instead of a skill less existence from, which few seldom escape, On the other hand, your area of responsibility may involve making the decision about whether or not to seek to undo years of wrongdoing implemented by others against one who was undeserving of the treatment meted out to him by those with long-term objectives of seeking to implement a new pathway into a former colony with perpetual-wealth generation at its core, with the aid of those who would benefit financially from this new scheme how will you choose, to stand courageously or to follow the path of others before, who lacked the type of courage to say no to the former Colonial “power” and its supporters. The area with, which you maybe confronted, could very well be to lend a helping hand to another that wasn’t about yourself. On occasion, we may be confronted with a scenario in, which that what another may be seeking, is in your possession and/or within your power to provide but how should you proceed is the challenge, when actions taken by such may have caused injury or even pain how do you respond? Do you respond in kind or do you take the “higher” road. This is certainly not an easy situation to be confronted with and should expediency rule the day or should a course of daring to be different be charted. The answer lies only within the individual faced with such an eventuality, because we often do not know the motivation of others and whether or not genuine assistance is required. However, one can never be faulted for offering something within your possession to provide when all else says to “slam the door”. In the end it may indeed turn out that by offering, the would be seeker knowing their cause is unjust may take the less shameless path and refuse to place such a situation before someone wronged, however one never knows and the way forward is often strewn with tough choices.The main point being made here is this, even though our actions may not be seen as earth shattering as helping to obtain world peace, even in a small way what our contributions entail may very well be the type of action that could assist in molding the life of a real hero by the choices we make even when not realizing how significant they are to another individual. Courageous actions may not always be readily apparent but when given the choice to offer input from another seeking it, the outcome should be given much careful thought because it may be that your very action could be the helping hand in the life of a very deserving individual, which is in your “power” to assist and maybe just a little less focusing on what is in for "me" may be the real test of whether or not you acted with courage when it really mattered (even if it requires going against the established path taken by predecessors for gain), for one can never tell how life’s tests come to us, often when we least expect it and for, which some grandiose scheme may have been sought but events just did not materialize in that fashion. How we act in the smaller matters, will in turn determine how or even if we are indeed worthy of being placed in situations requiring more burdensome challenges.

The Outcome:
Courageous action is not always readily apparent is the point being made in closing and it would behoove us to examine our actions with great care when confronted with situations unexpectedly because no one knows the future and the best laid plans that took decades to compile can be unraveled in an instant. Egypt’s former dictator can attest to that as you seek to address the challenges before you, I hope with ”food for thought”, considering all the options (not just those expedient types) but carefully and methodically ALL because this is the only fair way to proceed in all circumstances, you can never tell if your response may be courageous in the life of a deserving individual, and that would have been worth it. Often it is difficult to tell if by some small action you are assisting in a larger plan in, which your input may appear to be small but really significant in the end, that’s why fairness should be our most important motto! See the post EXAMPLES OF COURAGE - AMENDED AND EDITED for the post that concludes the discussion of this subject, which focuses on the type of courageousness that is required for the preservation of the collective uniqueness (of for example a state), and not permitting those criteria (such as self determination processes that can have far reaching implications) that define a state's unique citizenry to be dissected, disrespected, disregarded and shown disdain for by those only concerned with the furtherance of their own selfish objectives at the expense of all else (regardless of whose policies, or individual's rights as well as  specific states rights are sacrificed along the way, and who in turn wouldn't tolerate similar reciprocal action by the same states whose processes are trampled over rudely - see  the post THE PREMISE BEHIND THE "FLAWED" LEGISLATION - UPDATED. It is in reality a unique call for that rare form of collective courageousness needed to be demonstrated in the face of seemingly insurmountable odds at the hands of those that disguise their true intentions while pursuing age old pursuits (methods) at obtaining perpetual wealth-generation, disrespectfully and the successful example used by the early American colonists should be carefully studied for the overall implications of the lessons to be learned, such as office holders with "unity of purpose around a specific cause" etc., (even if the exact methods can't be copied) but the associated principles can be applied and used appropriately, as described in the post A CLOSER LOOK AT AN UNUSUAL FORM OF EXEMPLIFIED COURAGE (EDITED AND UPDATED). 
What these perpetrators don't realize is that ONE knew of their plans because only He knows the future and it was recorded, even down to the awarding of 1st Amendment free "speech" rights as documented in the post "WHO REALLY WAS GRANTED THE FREEDOM TO SPEAK?" to the "free loader" types to provide them with a form of "legitimacy" to pursue their corrupt, useless and skill less practices of income generation in their performance of doing very little in exchange for much at the expense of those who have been victimized along the way and whose rights and lives sacrificed for what, a very demeaning form of lifestyle and existence (see the post WHEN SACRIFICING IS IMPLEMENTED BY DECREE - UPDATED), for examples of those whose lives have been tragically sacrificed surgically, and covered-up with carefully re-arranged replacements of a certain depiction as deemed appropriate by those of their cause; but permitted for the journey and molding of "His chosen" for this time as documented in the post GOD'S DIRECTION IN THE LIVES OF HIS CHOSEN - UPDATED. The fact that these developments were previously recorded in Revelation chapter 13, verse 15, in part, centuries ago, in addition to other sections that appropriately, if time is taken to read the ensuing developments, for those of "His chosen" with "understanding"*  see Footnote # 1 (who are truly seeking meaning in today's developments in our society that has truly lost its way and is in free fall, which the language in the final book of the Biblical account, with its altered language depicts, that has to be handled carefully because like most historical works, editions as well as additions have served the purpose of obscuring the real intent of much of its content, ) that accurately documented the type of fate that dictators ALL suffer* (see FOOTNOTE), which should be "food for thought" for those intent on "FORCING" their will on others considered of little consequence, by such "entitled" types, who sadly never appear to learn from the mistakes of others of their type. Ultimately, however, ONE alone is in control when it comes to the events in the lives of His chosen and He will not permit the plans of such types to impact His will for His chosen! 

* FOOTNOTE:
For additional discussion about The Types of Eventualities That Bring Down Dictators see The Finale/Outcome section of the post THE FATE OF DICTATORS WHO HOLD ON TOO LONG- UPDATED.


* Footnote # 1:
The subject of understanding is more carefully described in the post WISDOM, UNDERSTANDING AND KNOWLEDGE -  INSTRUMENTS FOR LIFE - UPDATED AND AMENDED 
             

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