Moral Courage Rarer Than Bravery In Battle
“There is discrimination in this world, slavery, slaughter, and starvation. Governments repress their people. Millions are trapped in poverty, while the nation grows rich,and wealth is lavished on armaments everywhere.
These are differing evils, but they are the common works of man. They reflect the imperfection of human justice,the inadequacy of human compassion,our lack of sensibilitytoward the suffering of our fellows.
But we can perhaps remember, even if only for a time, that those who live with us are our brothers, that they seek as we do, nothing but the chance to live out our live sin purpose and happiness, winning what satisfaction and fulfillment they can. Surely this bond of common faith, this bond of common goals,can begin to teach us something.
Surely we can learn at least,to look at those around us as fellow men. And surely we can begin to work a little harder to bind up the wounds among us, and to become,in our own hearts, brothers & country men once again. The answer is to rely on youth, not a time of life, but a state of mind,a temper of the will, a quality of imagination, a predominance of courage over timidity,of the appetite for adventure, over the love of ease. The cruelties and obstacles of this swiftly changing planet,will not yield to the obsolete dogmas and outworn slogans; they cannot be moved by those who cling to a present that is already dying,who prefer the illusion of security, to the excitement & danger that come with even the most peaceful progress.
It is a revolutionary world which we live in, & this generation at home and around the world, has had thrust upon it, a greater burden of responsibility than any generationth at has ever lived. Some believe there is nothing one man,or one woman, can do against the enormous arrayof the world’s ills. Yet many of the world’s great movements of thought & action have flowed from the work of a single man. A young monk began the Protestant Reformation.A young general extended an empirefrom Macedonia to the borders of the earth.A young woman reclaimed the territory of France, and it was a young Italian explorerwho discovered the new world,& the 32-year old Thomas Jefferson, who explained that “All Men Are, Created Equal.” These people moved the world, and so can we all.
Few will have the greatness to bend history itself, but each of us can work to changea small portion of events,and in the total of all those acts, will be written,the history of this generation. Each time someone stands for an ideal,or acts to improve the lot of others,or strikes out against an injustice, s/he sends forth a tiny ripple of hope. And crossing each other, from a million different centers of energy & daring,those ripples build a currentthat can sweep down the mightiest wallsof oppression & resistance.
Few are willing to brave the disapproval of their fellows, the censure of their colleagues,the wrath of their society. Moral courage is a rarer commodity than bravery in battle, or great intelligence. Yet, it is the one essential, vital quality,for those who seek to change the world,that yields most painfully to change.
And I believe that in this generation,those with the courage to enter this moral conflict,will find themselves with companionsin every corner of the globe.
For the fortunate among us,there is the temptation to followthe easy and familiar paths of personal ambition and financial success, so grandly spread before thosewho enjoy the privilege of education. But that is not the road historyhas marked out for us.
Like it or not,we live in times of danger and uncertainty. But they are also more opento the creative energy of manthan at any other time in history. All of us will ultimately be judged, and as the years pass, we will surely judge ourselves,on the effort we have contributed to buildinga new world society, and the extent to whichour ideals & goals have shaped that event.
Our future may lie beyond our vision,but it is not completely beyond our control.It is the shaping impulse of America that, neither faith, nor nature,nor the irresistable tides of history,but the works of our own hands, matched to reason and principle,will determine our destiny.” Robert F Kennedy
“There is discrimination in this world, slavery, slaughter, and starvation. Governments repress their people. Millions are trapped in poverty, while the nation grows rich,and wealth is lavished on armaments everywhere.
These are differing evils, but they are the common works of man. They reflect the imperfection of human justice,the inadequacy of human compassion,our lack of sensibilitytoward the suffering of our fellows.
But we can perhaps remember, even if only for a time, that those who live with us are our brothers, that they seek as we do, nothing but the chance to live out our live sin purpose and happiness, winning what satisfaction and fulfillment they can. Surely this bond of common faith, this bond of common goals,can begin to teach us something.
Surely we can learn at least,to look at those around us as fellow men. And surely we can begin to work a little harder to bind up the wounds among us, and to become,in our own hearts, brothers & country men once again. The answer is to rely on youth, not a time of life, but a state of mind,a temper of the will, a quality of imagination, a predominance of courage over timidity,of the appetite for adventure, over the love of ease. The cruelties and obstacles of this swiftly changing planet,will not yield to the obsolete dogmas and outworn slogans; they cannot be moved by those who cling to a present that is already dying,who prefer the illusion of security, to the excitement & danger that come with even the most peaceful progress.
It is a revolutionary world which we live in, & this generation at home and around the world, has had thrust upon it, a greater burden of responsibility than any generationth at has ever lived. Some believe there is nothing one man,or one woman, can do against the enormous arrayof the world’s ills. Yet many of the world’s great movements of thought & action have flowed from the work of a single man. A young monk began the Protestant Reformation.A young general extended an empirefrom Macedonia to the borders of the earth.A young woman reclaimed the territory of France, and it was a young Italian explorerwho discovered the new world,& the 32-year old Thomas Jefferson, who explained that “All Men Are, Created Equal.” These people moved the world, and so can we all.
Few will have the greatness to bend history itself, but each of us can work to changea small portion of events,and in the total of all those acts, will be written,the history of this generation. Each time someone stands for an ideal,or acts to improve the lot of others,or strikes out against an injustice, s/he sends forth a tiny ripple of hope. And crossing each other, from a million different centers of energy & daring,those ripples build a currentthat can sweep down the mightiest wallsof oppression & resistance.
Few are willing to brave the disapproval of their fellows, the censure of their colleagues,the wrath of their society. Moral courage is a rarer commodity than bravery in battle, or great intelligence. Yet, it is the one essential, vital quality,for those who seek to change the world,that yields most painfully to change.And I believe that in this generation,those with the courage to enter this moral conflict,will find themselves with companionsin every corner of the globe.
For the fortunate among us,there is the temptation to followthe easy and familiar paths of personal ambition and financial success, so grandly spread before thosewho enjoy the privilege of education. But that is not the road historyhas marked out for us.
Like it or not,we live in times of danger and uncertainty. But they are also more opento the creative energy of manthan at any other time in history. All of us will ultimately be judged, and as the years pass, we will surely judge ourselves,on the effort we have contributed to buildinga new world society, and the extent to whichour ideals & goals have shaped that event.
Our future may lie beyond our vision,but it is not completely beyond our control.It is the shaping impulse of America that, neither faith, nor nature,nor the irresistable tides of history,but the works of our own hands, matched to reason and principle,will determine our destiny.” Robert F Kennedy
The Diggers Story Podcast Episode #24
Digger reads a portion of his letter he sent to the President of the United States.
Digger plays the PSA (actor: Tim Robbins) that prompted him to write the President.
Music of mix excerpts from Audiowax (John Lennon "Give Peace a Chance and George Bush), Nancy Lancey song "Peace in the World and Musical Graffiti "Peace Inside"
Teaser for Diggers Story Podcast 024
Music by Dig Trio. Links to After Downing Street and Dear Mr. President Letters To George
Digger plays the PSA (actor: Tim Robbins) that prompted him to write the President.
Music of mix excerpts from Audiowax (John Lennon "Give Peace a Chance and George Bush), Nancy Lancey song "Peace in the World and Musical Graffiti "Peace Inside"
Teaser for Diggers Story Podcast 024
Music by Dig Trio. Links to After Downing Street and Dear Mr. President Letters To George
