I have always valued courage as one of the most important qualities one could possess. Although somewhat irrelevant, one of my favorite movies, the first movie I ever saw in theaters, has always been the Lion King, which has strong themes of Simba (also my cats name) overcoming fears, and being courageous in the face of adversity. However, the line between stupidity and courage is fine. The courage we most often talk about, moral courage, involves acting righteously even when your all alone. This is what seperates Martin Luther King, who was courageous, and Hitler who was simply crazy. To elaborate, Courage does not just mean doing crazy, dangerous things. If I jump off a bridge, I do not necessarily have courage. For these actions to be courageous there has to be a greater reason behind it. If I jump off that bridge to save a group of children, I may then be considered courageous. I believe is somewhere in all of us. Every time you sacrifice something, or stand up for family or a friend, you are showing your courage. In fact, I would consider the parent working 12 hours a day to support his family much more courageous than a sniper shooting down an enemy plane.
I suppose I see courage all of the time. Although we most often associate courage with adults, I think it is actually most evident in young children. It always seems like the children are the ones who want to help people, and sacrifice time and money for others, while the adults are more likely to shrug it off, and leave someone helpless. The reason we hear about the adults more often is because they are the ones with enough resources to get things done, but if you gave children those same resources, there would be much more generosity and courage. After all, doesn't every kid dream of being a superhero? In my own life, I see courage in school when kids stick up for others. Especially in high school and below, sticking up for a kid takes a lot of courage. Kids in school are always under the impression that they have to throw their "less cool" friends under the bus in order to make cooler friends and gain social standing. However, I have found exactly the opposite. It actually seems that the coolest kids I know are friends with everyone. It takes courage to stand up to a cooler friend while defending someone. At home I see it through my grandparents, aunts, parents, siblings, etc who are constantly arguing, pushing, and fighting for their fellow family to become successful and happy.
Now that I think about it, one of the most important ambitions and goals in my life has always been to be a selfless courageous person. Everyone leaves a mark on the world, and if in my life I am able to help at least a few people, and stay stern and strong in my beliefs then I think I could be happy anywhere.
