When I grew up I was indoctrinated with GI-JOE, good versus bad, and good always wins. Bravery to me was fighting the good fight in the face of evil.
As a Canadian I know of the many sacrifices our small but brave armed forces were able to contribute and achieve during WWII. If it wasn’t for them and their allies it’s assured I wouldn’t be typing this in comfort today.
I’m not going to go in depth, but I do believe in the end and at that time the allies were on the side of good. I wouldn’t want to imagine a world controlled by Nazi’s. So we can make up as many conspiracy theories as possible, but in the end Nazism needed to be defeated. I say this with conviction considering my family faced and suffered from genocide.
I am disheartened by how many army veterans are treated; at least in the United States. They get their heads blown off, and if it’s something else that gets blown off or they develope PTSD, the services for them get denied or pushed to the back burner. I believe that they are courageous. Perhaps it’s my indoctrination speaking, but I still believe in the face of evil, courage is to fight it.
So now in this current generation, we believe all wars are unjust. We sit and analyze who is behind this and who is behind that. I agree that Vietnam was a meat grinder. It was unjust to send citizens to their deaths to spread “democracy”. Does that mean that the soldiers were not courageous?
Sometimes wars are unjust or just stupid to get into. I won’t get into the debate of whether North’s America should be in the middle east or anywhere else. There are plenty here who fight for the rights of others while ignoring their own country. This doesn’t mean we shouldn’t have allies who have similar democracies and “freedoms” we take form granted. If we don’t strengthen like minded countries, then often we stand alone. The world is connected more then it ever was. I don’t agree or like globalization, but it is here and not going anywhere.
In order to steer this blog towards defining courage here is a clip from Ben Shapiro:
It would seem in today’s age courage is a very broad concept. We are all courageous for finding
strength in expressing ourselves. If you are right-wing, showing up at a University Campass which is overwhelmingly left-wing could be considered courageous.
To the left or liberal minded, coming out of the closet, getting a sex change, or fighting for other people’s ideologies is considered courageous. It would seem to be a more “global approach”, where warriors are no longer celebrated for defending their countries.
Yes, I have a fear of the politicians, the police, and the military. Without proper moral control they often become our own worst enemies. However it would seem social warriors have now usurped the term “courage”. Perhaps we have shifted courage to a more relative concept rather than subjective.
Is it courageous to live any way you want and push for other to accept that? Perhaps that is the new “courage”. Perhaps my old indoctrination needed to be replaced, but I’m perfectly comfortable still believing in the “good” fight. Perhaps the real courage is still fighting for that.
BB613