Thread: Courage
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Old 11-05-2007, 11:04 PM   #3 (permalink)
Knuckles&Knees
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Great thread, Bullseye, and I agree with you. I especially loved Thai Bri's response (all three paragraphs but especially the first two).


I think some of us are born with a greater trait of courage than others. I think some of us are nurtured from the cradle in such a way where we develop more of the trait of courage then others.

I think I was born and or reared more fearful than most males. Perhaps I was just born that way [shrug]. But time and factors in life forced greater and greater degrees of courage into my character. I'm still not very much of a courageous man, but I do have rage in me.

Rage and courage I think can often be confused. A courageous man can be moved by anger (for the good or worse) but he does not have to have anger to essentially display courage. A person with rage however is chemically induced (per emotional change) to action or the lack of action and would otherwise be fearful.

Then you have the aspect of believing you don't have much or anything to live for. People like this will stand up to large numbers of men. (By the way the FBI says there is a fine line between suicide and murder) They will kill a person(s) and be willing to do the prison time.


I think people can develop courage - like you do - I think that has to come about by certain factors. Those factors can be varied and many and differ for people. Having been in the Marine Corps I would say they have a pretty good program going on, but they depend more on instilling anger in people. I spent a short time in a Catholic community that was semi-monastic but heavily shaped by pre-Vatican II monasticism. The monastic cultures before Vatican II, I found out from that short experience, were hardcore. That experience gave me a glimpse into the *cultural* traits that formed 15 year old and 20 year old Conquistadors centuries ago, that sailed to the "New World." I think I better know why now, they had so much courage, and how 20 year olds could be tasked with such responsibilities (equal to that of a General or ship Captain today). That community had a better program in my opinion than even the U.S. Marine Corps, but they don't teach violence, but moral courage (strangely mixed up with a certain cruelty towards tolerating others being in pain - even if it meant watching them be eaten alive by gators)

I think the martial arts and boxing and other sports like football or rugby go a long way in helping develop courage in people too.


Just my thoughts.
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