It Takes Courage to Be Good
"One isn't
necessarily born with courage, but one is born with potential. Without courage, we cannot practice any other
virtue with consistency. We cannot be
kind, true, merciful, generous, or honest."
- Maya Angelou
(1928-2014)
American Poet
When you
were a child, did you ever have to deal with the pressure to do something you
knew was wrong but told you were a "chicken" if you didn't follow the
crowd? I can remember clearly that
happening several times. Children have
always faced that kind of pressure. They
know right from wrong and that they should not do what is wrong, however, they
do not want to be seen as a coward so they give in.
Adults face his same thing all
the time. We not only know right from
wrong, we also should know good from evil.
Yet, there is still that pressure of not being seen as a coward. Too often, otherwise good people do bad
things thinking they are brave. Here is
the truth: Only those with real courage can be good. It does not take courage to go along, it
takes courage to stand alone.
Author and holocaust survivor,
Corrie ten Boom use to say, "Any dead fish can swim downstream." You do not need to be strong, brave or even intelligent
to go along with the crowd. It is easy
to do what others are doing, even if you know it is wrong. But the brave are willing to stand alone if
they must rather than go against what they know is right.
As a leader in the Boy Scouts, I
have worked hard to teach our boys that the quality of courage is one of the
most important they will develop. One of
the Scout Laws is "A Scout is Brave".
Bravery is not just being willing to go into the woods at night or doing
what is hard to do. True bravery is the
ability to be a person of integrity and doing what you know is right - all the
time. To be brave is not just keeping yourself
from doing wrong, but being willing to stand against wrong when you need to.
Qualities like, kindness,
honesty, truthfulness, loyalty and good manners all take courage to achieve. Those who do wrong, who cheat, steal, lie and
are corrupt and not brave at all. These
are the cowards and low life of the world.
We see them all around us and we even have them in some of the highest
offices of our country. But it is the
brave who will stand out and are willing to be different. The brave will stand for the truth, no matter
the cost.
As a success-minded person, you
know that courage is the key to all other virtues. It takes courage to be good and to succeed in
life. Never be deceived into thinking
that by refusing to do what you know is wrong you are less than courageous. Fools are easily lead. The brave can stand alone and they are the
ones who will succeed in life.
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