What happened to individual courage?

Rod Wielkie

Submitted photo/Rod Wielkie

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OPINION — Every American recognizes extraordinary courage.

We honor recipients of the Medal of Honor because they risked — and often sacrificed — their lives for others. Fortunately, few of us will ever be called upon to demonstrate that kind of heroism.

Most of us face a quieter test. It comes when we recognize that something isn’t right.

The question isn’t whether we notice. The question is whether we accept the responsibility to speak.

Our republic depends on more than elections and laws. It depends on an unwritten social contract: Ordinary citizens will participate, ask difficult questions and hold those in authority accountable. Respect for authority has always been an American value. Blind obedience never has been.

Years ago, someone I considered a friend ended a difficult conversation with the words, “It's none of my damn business.” I’ve thought about those words ever since.

Perhaps that’s exactly the problem.

Too many of us have become comfortable avoiding uncomfortable conversations. We assume someone else will ask the hard questions, challenge a questionable decision or defend what is right.

Usually, no one does.

Individual courage is rarely dramatic. More often, it is the employee questioning an unethical decision, the parent challenging a policy, the taxpayer asking how public money is spent or the citizen willing to stand before a governing board and simply say, “This isn’t right.”

Speaking honestly may invite criticism, strain relationships or carry personal consequences. That’s why courage matters. If doing the right thing were always comfortable, courage wouldn't be necessary.

Democracy doesn't endure because extraordinary heroes occasionally emerge.

It endures because ordinary citizens accept an extraordinary responsibility to stand up when conscience demands it.

Because if good people convince themselves that it isn’t their business, then whose is it? 

Rod Wielkie is a U.S. Navy veteran, retired federal law-enforcement officer and former Arizona public school teacher. Please submit comments at yourvalley.net/letters or email them to AzOpinions@iniusa.org. We are committed to publishing a wide variety of reader opinions, as long as they meet our Civility Guidelines.