Elizabeth Holtzman from FSAP works across the hall from me at UHS. A few weeks back, over coffee, she mentioned that she has sent clients to their respective unions when their problems centered on work issues could be addressed through union action. Interestingly, I am also privy, via bargaining meetings, to union concerns; members come with problems but because of fears of reprisal do not want the union to address them. It made me wonder how far I could be pushed before I would act with disregard to consequences. I remembered reading an article by Peter Jaret in Health Magazine (March 2005; pp 120-124) about courage.
I would like to share a few quotes… "Everybody wants to think they'd stand up and do what's right when the time comes. But would they?... What if you had worked for Enron or another company guilty of illegal financial dealings? Would you have had the courage to blow the whistle on your powerful employer? Imagine you were one of the young soldiers at Abu Ghraib, the now notorious prison in Iraq? Would you have risked your safety and career to speak up when you saw prisoners being tortured and humiliated?....It is impossible for you to know how you would act in such a situation, of course, but even in daily life, circumstances arise that challenge your standards of morality.
You hear someone tell a sexist or racist joke at a party. You know that a co-worker is falsifying expense receipts. Your child tells you that your best friend's son is bullying kids at school. Should you speak up? If you're not quite sure, you're in good company. 'Most of us don't know how we'll respond to a moral dilemma until we confront it.' says Walter-Sinnott-Armstrong, PhD, a professor of philosophy at Dartmouth College and an expert in moral theory. Surprisingly, some researchers say neither religious beliefs nor education seems to increase the likelihood that people will act on principle."
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'There are many reasons people don't stand up to injustices and wrongs,' says Rushworth M. Kidder, PhD, author of the new book Moral Courage: Ethics in Action and director of the Institute for Global Ethics. 'We're taught to obey authority, and most of us don't want to be in the spotlight, which can be embarrassing. We may be confused about the issues, not sure exactly what's right and wrong. And of course there are often consequences, sometimes serious ones."…
"At a 2003 Dartmouth College conference on moral courage, one of the speakers was Vietnam War veteran Hugh Thompson, a helicopter pilot who helped end the infamous My Lai massacre by stepping between rampaging American troops and the villagers they were killing. Shocked by what he'd seen, the pilot reported the horrific events to his supervisors and later to brigade headquarters. Officials tried to cover up the massacre, but Thompson's testimony before Senate and military prosecutors helped reveal the truth. At the conference, he received a standing ovation. 'Hearing stories like his helps give people courage to face their own moral challenges,' says Aine Dononvan, EdD, executive director of Dartmouth's Ethics Institute, 'Examples of moral courage are more than simply inspiring. They give people confidence that they can act on principle."
So, like everything else worthwhile in life courage takes practice and perseverance or it does not develop. I had thought some people were inherently brave and others not. It does make sense. A brain not stimulated will shrink, a muscle not utilized does the same, a moral value not expressed is worthless. But what exactly is this necessary component of an ethical life. I consulted the Internet, courage defined by Wikipedia "is the ability to confront fear, pain, danger, uncertainty or intimidation. It can be divided into "physical courage"
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-in face of physical pain, hardship, and threat of death-and "moral courage"-in the face of shame, scandal, and discouragement. As a virtue, courage is covered extensively in Aristotle's Nicomachean Ethics, its vice of deficiency being cowardice, and its vice of excess being recklessness."
I also did not realize that civil courage "(defined as "civilians standing up against something that is deemed unjust and evil, knowing that the consequences of their action might lead to their death, injury, or any other negative effect.), in many countries, such as France and Germany, is enforced by law. If a crime is committed in public, the public is obliged to act, either by alerting the authorities, or by intervening in the conflict."
"The death of Kitty Genovese in 1964, Queens, New York, is often cited as a classic example of civil-courage failure. It is said that during a half-hour long attack, Kitty Genovese, was raped and murdered in full view of thirty-eight witnesses, while none intervened."
Perhaps courage could be taught in our school system. There is actually a site www.goodcharcacter.com which offers a suggestion. It has a teaching guide for grades 7-12 titled "In Search of Character", including a ten part video series on trustworthiness, respect, responsibility, fairness, caring, citizenship, honesty, courage, diligence, and integrity. Wish they had that when I took civics. So what inspiration do adults have? I can think of wonderful examples from the book "Bread and Roses" by Bruce Watson. When "the typical mill worker dies at age 39" Arturo Giovannitti, Joseph Ettore, Bill Haywood, and Elizabeth Gurley Flynn did something about it. What are we doing now? Not using our union will leave it weak. Not using our freedom will leave our democracy weak. I think we had better wake up and smell the bread and roses!
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