Extended Definition Of Courage

Famous American trial lawyer Gerry Spence once said: "Fear is the stuff of courage. We cannot be brave without fear. One who faces unreasonable danger is not courageous unless that person has first felt fear and overcome it. He is only foolish. I know of no persons who are brave who are not first afraid." The original definition of 'courage' is routed from the Latin word 'cor', meaning 'heart'. There are so many definitions to explain exactly what courage is, but courage means so much more than all those simple definitions. Courage is every time I kiss my sick father goodbye, unaware if this will be the last time I get to see his heart warming smile. Courage is the first time we stepped onto campus with absolutely no clue what we were getting

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Courage is a necessity to overcome fears and achieve a desired goal. Fear is something that exists in all of us. There is no hero or any particular courageous figure that is without fear. Being fearless is not required to be courageous, one simply has to look past or overcome their fears to possess this great quality. When overcoming fears and going against the norm, there are always risks involved. There are different types of risks that come about. Someone could risk life or limb, while others risk their reputation. Either risk is serious enough that a person must have courage to endure that particular risk. Courage can occur anytime, anywhere, and often in our everyday lives. Everyone will experience courage no matter how young,...show more content...

"The agent told me to be sure and keep my people away, as they were very poorly dressed. I did not do as I was told."(298) Even though it took some time, she eventually overcame her fear and her feelings of inferiority and stood up to Father Wilbur and the other white men. There are many risks involved when a person comes in contact with courage. A person's peers or the people close to them can be highly judgmental, especially if what you are doing clashes with common beliefs or behaviors. This stands very true when looking at the life of Martin Luther King Jr. His peers were not only the African American population, but also white upper–class clergymen. In the first line of Martin Luther King Junior's letter to the clergymen he states that he is "confined here in the Birmingham City Jail."(303) Dr. King took a great risk of being judged, solely by writing a letter to his peers. He knew that the clergymen already had their own ideas about him, but he took an even bigger risk by writing them from his jail cell. Another major risk that people take while being courageous is risking their life for the lives of others. In "And the Band Played On," Randy Shilts tells the story of a young female doctor, Grethe Rask, who risked her life because she worked in a clinic that didn't even provide the "В…basics [such] as sterile rubber gloves or disposable needles."(330) He goes on to describe even more horrifying details about Get more content