(no subject)

[lwoodbloo]

I've been reading "The Book of Honor", by Ted Gup lately, again. There's a story about Doug MacKiernan, a cia operative who was the last man out of the Tihwa embassy in China, right after the revolution happened. I was saying to sisterred about how I wouldn't have been able to do what he did, that I would have been too damned scared to do anything like that. She replied that he probably thought the same damn thing. What IS the nature of true courage, then? What do y'all think?

Comments

[phoenixsong]

I don't think you ever realize what you're actually capable of until you're in a crisis situation and realize, "Oh crap, someone needs to step up, and no one else is, so fine, I'm IT."

*amusedly remembers being a freshman leading all of Steuben to MJ during a false fire alarm at 2am, because the RA told our floor "Go to MJ," and everyone just stood around as the rest of the buildling evacuated*

Why no, I'm not a caretaking type, why do you ask? *g*

[songblaze.livejournal.com]

The nature of true courage, I would say, is putting fear on hold until you can give in to it. Making your own terrors stay quiet little voices in your head until you've done what you have to do.

The closest I've come was dealing with kids when I was a counselor. We had a girl who was developmentally disabled and...yeah. I'd just had a rather nasty fall, but she needed help getting down off the hill. So I buckled down, mentally swore at myself, and resisted the urge to whimper every time she threatened my balance. There wasn't anything else for it - she couldn't get down on her own, and I couldn't leave her up there, so I just sucked it up and did it.

~Blaze

[sattruckguy.livejournal.com]

perhaps courage is doing what needs to be done, regardless of how scared you are. Accepting that regardless of what you want, it's what needs to be done. It's being a firefighter and running into the burning building. It's being a police officer and running toward the guy that's shooting people.