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It takes courage!
Life is mostly froth and bubble,
two things stand like stone:
Kindness in another's trouble, courage in your own.
Adam Lindsay
Gordon
Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be
terrified;
do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you
wherever you go.
Joshua 1: 9
Very early one Saturday morning, a certain writer was traveling
on the road from Jerusalem to Jericho, well, from Washington
DC to McLean, Virginia, when his car suffered a flat tire, a
result, along with broken transmissions, twisted axles and punctured
fuel tanks, of driving in the Capital of the Free World, where
the disrepair of the roads is legendary. Having long ago learned
Dale Carnegie's maxim "If life hands you a lemon, make lemonade.",
your editor was wondering how to bring some good from this misfortune
when an important-looking politician approached, driving down
the same road in his expensive car.
When he saw me, he passed by on the other side, honked his horn
and yelled abuse which, as you can imagine, was tremendously
helpful and comforting. Happily, we were just a few yards from
a gas station, and when the car limped its way there, the aforementioned
Levite was filling his car. He reprimanded me for not getting
my disabled vehicle out of his way quickly enough, and told me
how very important he was, even at 6:45 am. I pointed out to
him, for I was feeling bold, that some people, even truly important
ones, are gracious enough to help rather than abuse another who
is in trouble. A young Hispanic mechanic, soon to be married,
took pity on me, helped me change the tire, and refused to take
a penny for his trouble. He told me he was a Christian, which
I'd already realized. God used him as an angel that morning,
and he and his fiancée were rewarded with a small wedding
gift a few hours later.
There are at least four morals to the story. First, as Jesus
said of the original Good Samaritan, "Go and do likewise".
Secondly, if we ask God to help us, He does. Thirdly, no act
of kindness goes unseen by Him: "I tell you the truth, whatever
you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did
for me." (Matthew 25: 40) And above all, the brave mechanic,
who remained unimpressed by a gross display of wealth and power,
reached out to one in need when his prosperous and self-important
customer would not do so and thus displayed that rare courage
needed to serve another, especially without expectation of reward.
We hope the very important politician never has a flat tire in
a remote place, well almost never.
Recently, we have discussed America's formidable challenges.
Perhaps we are inclined to just give up, accept national decline
as inevitable, and settle for a slow decline rather than its
reversal. British readers will instantly recognize what American
readers may not: we've been here before, in 1978, when Britain
was faced with such massive problems that many people were ready
to give up hope of ever redeeming the nation from its perils.
Thousands of business leaders emigrated. Then as now, the times
demanded courage. Margaret Thatcher came along and transformed
the economy, curbed the labor unions, lowered taxes, restored
civil society and renewed national pride. She was able to do
those things because she was blessed with vision and courage.
Similarly, in present-day America, there is only one way to restore
the nation to honesty and moral prosperity. If we hope to emulate
a time when people were kind and civil, when politicians were
incorruptible, when the media reported news rather than created
it, and the nation was led by men honorable in their conduct
rather than in name only, then we must summon our courage. First,
let us revisit 1978 to read what two seasoned observers of the
world said at that time.
At Harvard University's graduation on June 8, 1978, Aleksandr
Solzhenitsyn spoke of the West's decline in courage. He said:
"The Western world has lost its civic courage, both as a
whole and separately, in each country, in each government, in
each political party and, of course, in the United Nations. Such
a decline in courage is particularly noticeable among the ruling
and intellectual elites, causing an impression of a loss of courage
by the entire society. There remain many courageous individuals,
but they have no determining influence on public life. Political
and intellectual functionaries exhibit this depression, passivity
and perplexity in their actions and in their statements, and
even more so in their self-serving rationales as to how realistic,
reasonable and intellectually and even morally justified it is
to base policies on weakness and cowardice. And the decline in
courage, at times attaining what could be termed a lack of manhood,
is ironically emphasized by occasional outbursts of boldness
and inflexibility on the part of those same functionaries when
dealing with weak governments and with countries that lack support,
or with doomed currents which clearly cannot offer any resistance.
But they get tongue-tied and paralyzed when they deal with powerful
governments and threatening forces, with aggressors and international
terrorists. Must one point out that from ancient times a decline
in courage has been considered the beginning of the end?"
Mr. Solzhenitsyn's wisdom is timeless. One only has to compare
US policy towards say, Iraq and China to appreciate that if it
were consistent and courageous, it would be demonstrating its
military force to Beijing as well as Baghdad. Alas, as we pointed
out in September and October 1995, the desire to sell hamburgers
has overwhelmed our priorities and our courage. In those issues,
we outlined a moral China policy, and we now repeat it emphatically.
Solzhenitsyn's words are also relevant when trying to combat
the virulent and evil attack on the values we know and cherish
inside America. We need the moral courage to defend those values
from those who purloin them. Six months after Mr. Solzhenitsyn's
speech, Queen Elizabeth II delivered a memorable Christmas message,
from which these lines are taken. "Today we need a special
kind of courage, not the kind needed in battle but a kind that
makes us stand up for everything we know is right, everything
that is true and honest. We need the kind of courage that can
withstand the subtle corruption of the cynics. We mustn't let
the difficulties of the present or the uncertainties of the future
cause us to lose faith. It's far from easy to be cheerful and
constructive when things around us suggest the opposite, but
to give up the effort would mean to switch off hope for a better
tomorrow. Even if the problems seem overwhelming there's always
room for optimism. Every problem presents us with the opportunity
both to find an answer for ourselves and to help others. The
context of the lives of the next generation is being set here
and now, not so much by the legacy of science or wealth or political
structure that we shall leave behind us, but by the example of
our attitudes and behavior to one another, and by trying to show
unselfish, loving and creative concern for those less fortunate
than ourselves."
We pointed out in August that the devil conceals his presence
in the world by deceiving people into thinking he does not exist.
But what does God say? "Do not fear for I am with you; do
not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and
help you." (Isaiah 41:10) Indeed, the Bible contains the
phrase 'do not fear' 365 times. That's comforting as we struggle
to recover our perspective in an era when right seems wrong,
when a school punishes a child for giving thanks before lunch,
when children learn to use guns, drugs and condoms rather than
their lessons, and when a girl can be given an abortion but not
an aspirin without her parents' consent. Evil pervades the education
system just as it pervades the media, as we see false, distorted
news reports and programs filled with violence, sex and drugs.
And these days, reports of violence, sex and drugs emanate from
the White House. When we recently met Gary Aldrich, the former
White House FBI agent, he mentioned he volunteered for White
House duty to get away from the violence, sex and drug use, but
found he had arrived at the epicenter of such activity. How terrible
life has become for America's young people. Drugs, sex and violence
in school, at home and on television. They lack a moral compass,
a basis to differentiate right from wrong. And so how unsurprising
it is to see among them soaring rates of drug use, school dropout
and murder.
In politics, it takes courage to stay focused on God's will rather
than the latest opinion poll. It takes courage to restore a culture
that has been decimated by atheists and cynics. It takes courage
to end the public education system as we know it, and it takes
courage to confront the whining media bullies who serve as unelected
national leaders. It takes courage to end the immorality of vote-rigging,
so that elections can again be free and fair. It takes courage
to address the problems of the poor and homeless, rather than
just toss them a few coins. It takes courage to dismantle racial
barriers to embrace as friends people of many different ethnicities.
It takes courage to seize back the streets of South Central Los
Angeles from the gangs and the streets of Chicago from Louis
Farrakhan and his goons.
It takes courage to abolish the corrupt, incompetent government
of Washington and get the roads fixed. Indeed, it takes courage
to reach beyond the safety of the past into the unknown adventure
of the future. Above all, it takes courage to emerge from denial
into action, but all these things can and must be done if America
is to be saved. It can be done. Britain was transformed from
a sleepy socialist backwater into a vibrant, purposeful country,
as were the nations of Eastern Europe when they exchanged despair
and socialism for hope and opportunity. Perhaps we should fortify
ourselves with the words of House Speaker Newt Gingrich: "No
civilization can survive with 12-year-olds having babies, 15-year-olds
killing each other, 17-year-olds dying of AIDS and 18-year-olds
getting diplomas they can't read, but an America that has replaced
the culture of poverty and violence with a culture of opportunity
would be the safest, most prosperous place on the globe."
Before we can summon courage, we must acknowledge the size of
the problem. It is painful to accept that America has unwittingly
abandoned democracy, safe streets, good education, honest media
and above all, our God and Father, but that's the way it is.
When reporters deny that they routinely deceive the public, they
are simply postponing the day of truth and healing. When the
President flies into a rage at a question about his checkered
past, the rage stems from a refusal to confront and deal with
it, thus reducing the Presidency to a public relations outfit.
When we deny the failure of public education, we cause young
people to be deluded into thinking they will be qualified for
success. And when we deny that our culture is in decline, we
can confirm it with a glance at any of two hundred television
channels.
Internationally, when we appease brutal regimes, we invite them
to be more brutal. During the opening ceremony of the Olympics,
NBC commentator Bob Costas remarked as the Chinese marched past:
"Every economic power, including the US, wants to tap into
that huge potential market, but of course there are problems
with human rights, property rights disputes and the threat posed
to Taiwan." There was nothing unusual about the remark unless
one is in denial. Beijing responded by attacking the Olympics
and NBC, calling the Americans "the cheapest, meanest and
lousiest hosts in Olympic history". General Electric,
which owns NBC, does business with China, so NBC were forced
to apologize for telling the truth.
What kind of courage is that? Did the apology help? China
Daily then denounced the Games' "disorganization, incompetence,
inefficiency, selfishness and chauvinism. It is hardly imaginable
that any other host could have done such a bad job." Their
comments may have been inspired by anger at being refused the
2000 Games, but NBC's cowardice went unrewarded. They might just
as well have been courageous. Why can't we learn that appeasement
never works? Only courage defeats bullies and tyrants, and that
goes for the nihilistic thugs who increasingly dominate public
education, the media and culture as well as those who run China.
We now have no choice but to be courageous if we are to confront
a well-organized enemy. We must draw inspiration from those courageous
heroes who have the vision and courage not to accept decline
as inevitable, but who serve and sacrifice and thus set the right
example for others. Let us emulate them. In the words of an old
hymn: "Be strong in faith and serve Him against unnumbered
foes; let courage rise with danger, and strength to strength
oppose." We must transform denial into a trumpet call to
courage. Above all, we must draw courage and hope from knowing
that the Lord will set the world right, wipe away every tear
and make all things new. He promised He would return and I, for
one, believe Him. Steve
Myers © 1996, 2006
This article is based on a talk
given at the National Press Club in Washington on August 28,
1996. |
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