Courage

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They say it isn’t really courage if you don’t have a choice about your action. The house is on fire so you either jump out the window or risk dying in the flames. The child is clearly drowning, so you dive into the river and pull her out. Not courage; just the thing to do. “Anyone would have done the same,” according to so many of those who are cited for bravery. 

But I say pshaw. Acting in the face of fear or at risk of danger to oneself surely means having chosen to do one thing — acting — rather than the other thing — not acting. 

This question is much on my mind these days, as I am reading the biography* of Virginia Hall, an American who in WWII was a spy and an agent in France for both the UK and the US. My goodness, I sometimes have to close the book and concentrate on just breathing, because the story is so fraught with close calls and risky plans that I can barely bear it. 

And then I wonder. Could I do that? Could I have ever been like her in occupied France? Risking my life to hide others, to lead others to a safe escape? To bribe officials? To pass along forged documents? 

Sitting in the comfort of my house, I don’t think so. 

But if I had been Virginia Hall, living in Europe and witnessing the rise of Hitler and all the evil he brought with him, maybe the decision to join the Special Operations Executive would have been the only thing to do. No choice in the matter but to act in the face of that evil, to do something — anything, so as not to be doing nothing. 
Courageous act or the only moral thing to do? 

Call it what you will, I am inspired by the story of Virginia Hall to consider the context of my own life and how to be and to how to act within it. Her story (one of so many men and women who risked their lives) calls me to think bigger and to be braver in the face of all that I have, which includes the luxury of choice. Therefore, may I choose to act with courage, even when — especially when — I have the option to turn away. May I look myself in the eye and say, Amanda: Act!

*Wolves at the Door by Judith Pearson


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A Post a Day in May No. 11 For the past two years, I have posted something to this blog every single day in May. This year, I hope to do it again. 

Photo by jean wimmerlin on Unsplash


Comments

  1. AnnMay 11, 2021 at 7:14 AM

    Thank you Amanda. I've ordered this book.

    And kudos on your take on courage. You nailed it. When we meet at Bouchercon 2022, I'll have a few tales of my own on acting, usually without thinking. And an analogy, as in the body's response to an insult, infection for instance.

    ReplyDelete
  2. PamelakatMay 11, 2021 at 9:57 AM

    A wonderful essay, Amanda.

    I think that most people would be amazed at their own bone-deep courage, quietly stored for when the need arises.

    ReplyDelete

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