Comments on: What do you think moral courage means?

By: Asma

Asma — Mon, 16 Aug 2010 19:10:37 +0000

I think that moral courage is when a person is strong about what he or she really believes in. At the same time, I think it requires the guts to stand up for a person’s faith. Even though others around the person with moral courage may not share the same faith. I have to give the example of my own mother, my mother is of muslim faith. She is a very strong and courageous woman. I think this really represents Moral Courage. Most of her life she lived in a Bible belt state which had minimal amounts of persons of different races, no offense to Christianity. This place was what you called “white country”. People of color were looked down upon and even called names. The teachers in the school even would assign the seating according to color. This was so that the teachers would know how many colored persons there were and the colored persons had to sit in a certain place. Even there weren’t any teachers of different race either. The comments from the person’s of different colors were always the same, how come we are called “bad names”. However, I have to tell if you weren’t of Christian faith you were shunned upon and made fun of in the community. Out of all the people I know of her kind she was the only one with the guts to stand up and practice her faith and tell others around her about her faith without fear of being picked, or being called names. She always taught me to stand up for myself even if others say bad things about my faith. I think her message is still strong enough that I inherited this same traits. Thanks, Mom

By: gloria vandiver

gloria vandiver — Sun, 13 Dec 2009 22:53:29 +0000

In the face of “the powers that be” when they do not adhere to the law and its specifications I feel citizens should stand up for those written laws. Personally I feel the law should be applied by published forum and not exception. How else can a citizenry know if they wrong or are wronged if the law is subject to “interpretation”. Ex post facto should be applied in all cases of law and not felt special to criminal. When law allows a person to act as their own defense then that should mean what it says and rules adhere to to that specificity. Apply law according to what it states and the precedent cases in which it has been enforced and there is no question to the Letter of the law

By: Janice Formichella

Janice Formichella — Mon, 05 Oct 2009 20:28:04 +0000

@Bill, wow I really don’t know much about that story but think it may be an interesting blog post…perhaps you would like to write a guest blog post on the Buddhist activism that took place around the Viet Nam war for us?
Your comments bring to mind something someone said in church yesterday: “God is not something to be believed in, but simply named.” One does not have to go far to find a powerful force for good: it exists within each of us.

By: Bill

Bill — Thu, 01 Oct 2009 14:42:28 +0000

@Anne Marshall, I think you have captured the sense that the sum of whole does benefit by individual freedom. But not by group participation or group organization alone if not at all. The health and truth of group is only real as the summation of each individual part. Political power of many can only be whole when it is the reflection of many healthy, but different individuals. That is the nature of life itself. Each of us are here not for the group itself, but for the right action from within ourselves as you say. Yes, the group can promote our growth, but cannot force that growth for us or others.

By: Bill

Bill — Thu, 01 Oct 2009 14:26:58 +0000

@Karla, I beleive you have touch the critical issue of Free Choice. It is the timeless challenge that not only our forfathers(& mothers) gave us. The unallienable right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. From a personal perspectiv e this is a two sided sword of our right action to choose for ourself as long has it does not harm another. These to me are in harmony with the great sages throughout time, not unrelated to our forefather/mothers direction.

To become rich, gay, political persuasion, etc. are personal choices as long as they harm no one else. Yet, there are concentrated and economic powerful individuals and groups, organization that manipulate and control others for personal and group gains or insecurity.

Unfortunately, this basic premise of free and individual right of choice is being attacked and this truth, the truth, is being distorted and society and humanity are suffering because of it.

By: Bill

Bill — Wed, 30 Sep 2009 23:13:12 +0000

Moral Courage to me is the Buddhist that set themselves on fire, the ultimate sacrifie, to alert the world of the human tragedy that Viet Nam had become in 1966. It change my life not only as a new solder, but forever.

I also think story of Christ to would qualify as walking the walk of Moral Courage.

But I think it was also Sid Hartha when after years of searching for righteousness he discovered there was no where to go but to accept what he already was, himself and became the simple replacement of a wise old ferryman. That right action was giving JOY to those one met along the way of their life.

By: Bill

Bill — Wed, 30 Sep 2009 23:03:04 +0000

Janice,

A great comment to create the birth and the life of your Moral Courage.

All I would add is that when Christ said “Be in the World, but not of the world” he was talking about the Spirtual World and your eternal life that is not man or women, but pure sub atomic Spiritual light.

I am confident that you will transcend your brilliant metaphor of the material bubble of consciouslife to the sea of cosmic consciousness itself.

By: Anne Marshall

Anne Marshall — Wed, 30 Sep 2009 18:13:32 +0000

Watching Ms. Manji this morning on MSNBC was inspiring. For me, Moral Courage is speaking from the heart, about what benefits the whole, those things that bring us together, where we are willing to be vulnerable and exposed, naked in our true beliefs. The willingness to take a stand is freedom in it’s raw sense. Thanks for making me think!

By: Janice Formichella

Janice Formichella — Wed, 30 Sep 2009 15:55:30 +0000

@Karla, you would really enjoy the current conversation taking place on my post about Arsham Parsi. Several people, including myself, have been discussing the concept of freedom and how it relates to the conflict between “the West” and those who would use our values and standards as an excuse to attack or or harm their own people.
My moral compass points towards wherever my intuition says it should. A huge part of moral courage is allowing yourself to listen to your gut, something which is actually pretty hard to do most of the time.

By: Karla

Karla — Wed, 30 Sep 2009 15:34:03 +0000

We have many freedoms in the United States, based on the moral courage of our founding fathers and mothers. They had everything to lose. What they gained, we gained, was a country that bases its laws on moral conviction.

The freedom to make choices that aren’t very popular is one thing.

Choices made based on anything other than your own moral convictions – such as fear, revenge, or material gain is another.

Where does your moral compass point?