The Meaning of Courage

<div class="OutlineElement Ltr SCXW100375398 BCX4"> <p><span data-contrast="none">In the competitive world of online status-mongering, courage involves little more than clicking “like” or earning a “mention” in a post that could risk losing a follower or two. Real courage is, of course, something else entirely. It’s about doing the right thing when there are real costs. It’s taking an unpopular stand, even a dangerous one when sitting back and doing nothing would be far easier.</span><span data-ccp-props= "{"201341983":0,"335559731":720,"335559739":0,"335559740":480}"> </span></p> <p><span data-contrast="none">During the dark days of Communist tyranny in Europe, governments spouted their dangerous nonsense, and citizens were expected, often by intimidation, to act as though their folly were true. Refusing meant social ostracization, police supervision, the loss of opportunity and freedom, and the compromise of personal safety. Most citizens ducked their heads and did what they could to survive. </span><span data-ccp-props= "{"201341983":0,"335559731":720,"335559739":0,"335559740":480}"> </span></p> <p><span data-contrast="none">Others, however, made the difficult choice to stand up. Their courage entailed not taking up arms or taking to the streets but, in a world where dissent was costly, a simple refusal to go along. Among those who showed this kind of courage was the Bendová family of Czechoslovakia, a family featured in the book</span> <a href= "https://colsoncenter.christianbook.com/not-by-lies-manual-christian-dissidents/rod-dreher/9780593541807/pd/541807?event=ESRCG"> <em><span data-contrast="none">Live Not By Lies</span></em></a> <span data-contrast="none">by Rod Dreher. Kamila Bendová will be a featured guest at the Colson Center National Conference, along with Rod Dreher, to tell the story of her family’s courage, even when that courage brought suffering.</span> <a href= "https://www.theamericanconservative.com/the-quiet-heroism-of-kamila-bendova/"> <span data-contrast="none">As Dreher wrote</span></a><