Courage: Willingness to stand up for what we believe in.
Courage is taking a step out of your comfort zone. So, this can be the most challenging civic disposition. It's not that we don't know how to have courage exactly, it's just that we are scared. Courage takes a great deal of bravery and, well, courage. Having courage is taking action.
Some examples are:
- You see someone messing with your friend. Or in plainer words, bullying. Now, what most people would do, would to wait until this "bully" were gone, and tell your friend how mean they are and how they shouldn't listen to what they are saying. But, if you were displaying courage, you would take action, and tell this "bully" that they need to stop. It's scary, and hard. But, it's right. It's what we believe.
- You see someone sitting alone. You feel bad for them, but you are scared. Of what? Well, maybe that your friends will make fun of you. Or maybe that the someone sitting alone won't like you, or want to talk to you. It just takes a lot of courage to walk over and sit there and talk to them. So most people would forget about it. But you need to take action. You should take action. Just make that first move. Have courage.
I don't know about you, but when I'm having courage, I normally get clammy, and feel so pathetic. But really, unless you are shaking, and have a painful face expression, people probably won't notice. They will just see you as being strong. So don't think too much about what your friends or classmates will think, just about what you are doing or who you are helping.
I know that courage is tough, but it's one of the most useful civic dispositions. With it, you can make a difference. Make a change.
