MillRatUSMC
11-08-03, 12:26 AM
The other day, there was mention about "Heroes and Cowards".
So it got me to thinking what is the difference between the two?
At times men and women might act heroic and at times they might act cowardly.
This might be timely dued to what the media and the Army of One has tried to made of Jessica Lynch.
Did she act heroic or did she act cowardly by going to her knees and praying?
From the web...
Inside, they are the same.
It's what the hero DOES that makes him or her a hero.
And what the coward DOESN'T DO that makes him or her a coward.
“You can judge a man’s character, not during times of comfort
and content, but rather in times of crisis and confrontation.”
~ Dr. Martin Luther King ~
Dr. King might have been talking uni-sex here.
Both the hero and the coward are normal men or women.
They have similar size, similar builds, similar genetics, and similar backgrounds.
They are presented with a crisis, one that involves risk and has an element of danger.
Each man or woman is placed in a challenging situation where the stakes are high.
Each man or woman has difficult decisions to make and the possibility of defeat, embarrassment, and/or endangerment is there, and it’s very real, very possible.
They’re both scared.
They’re both frightened.
Both men or women have butterflies going haywire in their stomachs,
both have broken out into a cold sweat,
and both men or women have chills running up and down their spines.
They both have the same amount of fear.
They both feel the same way,
it’s what they do that makes them different.
It’s the decisions they make,
and the actions they take,
that separate them.
The coward can’t control his fear, it controls him or her. The coward is not prepared for the crisis he’s or she confronted with, therefore he or she lacks confidence in his or her's abilities.
He or She decides to be indecisive and chooses nothing.
He or She takes no action as he or she is frozen in doubt.
Even if he’s or she faked it up to this point, now is the moment of truth. Deep down inside he or she doesn’t know if he or she can come through.
He or she has doubts; serious doubts.
Therefore he or she chooses to play it safe and minimize the consequences that are highly probable.
So he or she ducks out in cowardice.
The hero feels the exact same way as the coward, he’s or she just as scared, he or she has just as much fear, but he or she has the discipline and the ability (developed through preparation) to follow through with the task and get the job done.
The hero has the:
CAPACITY to rise to the challenge
TALENT to draw on in times of emergency
FORTITUDE to endure stoutness of mind and heart in times of severe hardship
STEADFASTNESS of purpose
STRENGTH of character
TENACITY to resist adversity
BRAVERY to accept fear as a perfectly normal response to endangerment
DETERMINATION to stick it out and the
ABILITY to execute the necessary actions toward achievement.
All this adds up to what really defines what the hero has and the coward lacks:
COURAGE
Courage is a prerequisite for pride and honor.
The coward knows the odds aren’t in his or her favor and the risk is too great.
In a sense, the coward makes an intelligent decision based on the instinct of survival.
Even if he or she was foolish enough to try, he or she wouldn’t be able to pull it off and matters would just end up worse.
The hero has the ability to decide which move to make because of his or her experience and preparation.
The hero has the discipline to execute actions under extreme pressure. He or she has true confidence in his or her's decisions and therefore executes them correctly without hesitation.
The hero is not a reckless thrill seeker.
He or She makes calculated choices because he or she knows the odds are in his or her favor.
The hero takes the action the coward can’t.
The hero has the ability to control his or her fear and achieve the desired outcome, and ends up saving the day!
A Medal of Honor recipent said or stated "It was an insanity!".
When speaking of the actions that resulted in him becoming a recipent of the Medal of Honor.
The line between Hero or coward is very thin as stated above.
It's what one does or doesn't do that makes the difference.
If one is thought a hero or a coward.
A final thought;
Spartan Mothers to their sons;
With it = victorious hero; on it = fallen hero; without it = coward.
So was Jessica Lynch a hero or a coward?
Semper Fidelis
Ricardo
PS Maybe this is reason that the Marine Corps makes boot camp so hard.
There should never be any lowering of the standard!
So it got me to thinking what is the difference between the two?
At times men and women might act heroic and at times they might act cowardly.
This might be timely dued to what the media and the Army of One has tried to made of Jessica Lynch.
Did she act heroic or did she act cowardly by going to her knees and praying?
From the web...
Inside, they are the same.
It's what the hero DOES that makes him or her a hero.
And what the coward DOESN'T DO that makes him or her a coward.
“You can judge a man’s character, not during times of comfort
and content, but rather in times of crisis and confrontation.”
~ Dr. Martin Luther King ~
Dr. King might have been talking uni-sex here.
Both the hero and the coward are normal men or women.
They have similar size, similar builds, similar genetics, and similar backgrounds.
They are presented with a crisis, one that involves risk and has an element of danger.
Each man or woman is placed in a challenging situation where the stakes are high.
Each man or woman has difficult decisions to make and the possibility of defeat, embarrassment, and/or endangerment is there, and it’s very real, very possible.
They’re both scared.
They’re both frightened.
Both men or women have butterflies going haywire in their stomachs,
both have broken out into a cold sweat,
and both men or women have chills running up and down their spines.
They both have the same amount of fear.
They both feel the same way,
it’s what they do that makes them different.
It’s the decisions they make,
and the actions they take,
that separate them.
The coward can’t control his fear, it controls him or her. The coward is not prepared for the crisis he’s or she confronted with, therefore he or she lacks confidence in his or her's abilities.
He or She decides to be indecisive and chooses nothing.
He or She takes no action as he or she is frozen in doubt.
Even if he’s or she faked it up to this point, now is the moment of truth. Deep down inside he or she doesn’t know if he or she can come through.
He or she has doubts; serious doubts.
Therefore he or she chooses to play it safe and minimize the consequences that are highly probable.
So he or she ducks out in cowardice.
The hero feels the exact same way as the coward, he’s or she just as scared, he or she has just as much fear, but he or she has the discipline and the ability (developed through preparation) to follow through with the task and get the job done.
The hero has the:
CAPACITY to rise to the challenge
TALENT to draw on in times of emergency
FORTITUDE to endure stoutness of mind and heart in times of severe hardship
STEADFASTNESS of purpose
STRENGTH of character
TENACITY to resist adversity
BRAVERY to accept fear as a perfectly normal response to endangerment
DETERMINATION to stick it out and the
ABILITY to execute the necessary actions toward achievement.
All this adds up to what really defines what the hero has and the coward lacks:
COURAGE
Courage is a prerequisite for pride and honor.
The coward knows the odds aren’t in his or her favor and the risk is too great.
In a sense, the coward makes an intelligent decision based on the instinct of survival.
Even if he or she was foolish enough to try, he or she wouldn’t be able to pull it off and matters would just end up worse.
The hero has the ability to decide which move to make because of his or her experience and preparation.
The hero has the discipline to execute actions under extreme pressure. He or she has true confidence in his or her's decisions and therefore executes them correctly without hesitation.
The hero is not a reckless thrill seeker.
He or She makes calculated choices because he or she knows the odds are in his or her favor.
The hero takes the action the coward can’t.
The hero has the ability to control his or her fear and achieve the desired outcome, and ends up saving the day!
A Medal of Honor recipent said or stated "It was an insanity!".
When speaking of the actions that resulted in him becoming a recipent of the Medal of Honor.
The line between Hero or coward is very thin as stated above.
It's what one does or doesn't do that makes the difference.
If one is thought a hero or a coward.
A final thought;
Spartan Mothers to their sons;
With it = victorious hero; on it = fallen hero; without it = coward.
So was Jessica Lynch a hero or a coward?
Semper Fidelis
Ricardo
PS Maybe this is reason that the Marine Corps makes boot camp so hard.
There should never be any lowering of the standard!