Courage and Inspiration Can Come from Unusual Places

I’ve been thinking a lot about courage. I’ve never been tested in a life or death situation and never had to react or perform under incredible pressure. There was a time in which police drew guns on me, but, c’mon, I’m a old white guy. They immediately put them away. So, how would I handle a situation in which an occupying military force, heavily armed, masked, and able to pretty much act with impunity, is mistreating (a gentle term compared to the actual abhorrent actions) a fellow human? 

That’s why I so admire the “bathrobe lady” in the picture. She rushed out of her house wearing her bathrobe and slippers to report on car crash involving some of the occupiers. She had to have known how some other patriots were treated with pepper spray, rubber bullets and worse, but her bravery and courage won out.

A few entries ago I spoke of Colonel Kurtz’s (Marlon Brando’s character in Apocalypse Now) realization that they couldn’t win in Viet Nam based on the fact that the enemy would do things his side wouldn’t do. And I was disillusioned. But seeing this kind of courage inspires me and while the outcome is in doubt, I am very confident that we will prevail. The occupying force will continue to leave, the people will continue to stay strong, and we will come out of this stronger, more resilient, and have more love.