The Un-Courageous Man

Let’s mention his name one more time and then be done with it. Lance Armstrong is the best recent example of a man who lost his courage. Oh sure, he had a boatload of it fighting cancer. I know firsthand that’s a tough road and his journey (wonderfully described in his autobiography) was inspiring.

But what happened next is very sad. And his prime-time admission did not make it better or forgivable. It is not, however, without purpose. The “Armstrong Affair” is a great teaching moment about the ramifications of a courage-lacking society.

Examples of this abound in history. For centuries, there were those who witnessed acts perpetrated against African Americans, yet failed to step forward to defend the defenseless.  During World War II, throngs of ordinary people, after first believing the lies of a psychopath, remained action-less, despite seeing the horrors that occurred around them in what we now call the Holocaust.  In the first decade of this century, we all had a ringside seat in observing the aftermath of those whose greed was so strong, they brought down entire industries and a great deal of the American economy.

Courage is what holds a human society together. We therefore have a social responsibility to be courageous whenever we can. It sets an example on the world stage. It sets an example for children, ours and others’. It will ultimately make us feel better than the guy or gal who circumvents it.

It is not, however, the easiest road to take. And that’s where the teaching comes in. Find someone this week (adult or child) and have this discussion: why is courage more important than fame, power, money or winning? Let me know how it goes.

And now let’s move on to more important headlines.