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Senator John McCain says Those who serve in the Peace Corps are courageous
Senator John McCain says Those who serve in the Peace Corps are courageous
Encouraging Courage
In his new book, Why Courage Matters, John McCain tells stories of heroes. Mitchell Red Cloud asked comrades in the Korean War to tie his fatally injured body to a tree so he could remain upright and keep firing. John Lewis knelt to pray with other civil rights marchers as Alabama troopers beat them. Angela Dawson of Baltimore told the cops about the goings-on of crack dealers in her neighborhood--and died after her house was set ablaze.
What is courage?
It is a rare moment of unity between conscious fear and action. It happens when something deep within us strikes the flint of love, of honor, of duty. I don't believe you can have true courage without fear because part of courage is overcoming fear. Those with courage love something more than their own welfare.
Why write about courage now?
After [the 9/11 terrorist attacks], people were afraid to leave their homes, to get on a plane, even to go shopping. The enemy has forced us into a world of fear. This is a perfect time to display courage.
Who is courageous today?
Obviously, all of our men and women fighting overseas. Our firemen and police. Those who serve in the Peace Corps or AmeriCorps. My great heroine is Aung San Suu Kyi [the Nobel Peace Prize winner who spent years under house arrest for working to bring free elections to Burma].
What about Congress?
There is a definite lack of courage in the Congress of the United States. As a body, the Congress has been co-opted by the special interests who have a far greater role in our government than can be viewed as appropriate. We see it in all kinds of policies--healthcare, energy, environment.
You were a POW in Vietnam, and you're known for speaking your mind. Are you courageous?
I've never considered myself courageous. Anything beneficial I've been able to do was due to the strength provided me by others. The great privilege of my life has been to serve in the company of heroes. -Susan Brink