[Pedro Poitevin]

I've been pondering what courage means to people. Judging by Ted Cruz's campaign, who labels himself a "courageous conservative," courage seems to be something like "the willingness to say very controversial things, without fear of pushback;" in other words, courage is a form of political incorrectness.

Mr. Cruz, the son of an immigrant who at once point sought and obtained political refuge, recently said that he would not let in Muslim Syrian refugees into the USA (and that these refugees ought to be taken in by Muslim majority countries).

An analogous position (at the time of his father's arrival into the U.S.) would have been to say that Cuban refugees ought not to come into the U.S. and instead ought to be relocated into Hispanic-majority countries, but this apparently does not trouble Mr. Cruz. I guess he thinks himself courageous for holding a position that is profoundly unpopular with the left (and very popular with the right) in this country, and for uttering it publicly, even in the face of imminent pushback of the sort he has gotten.

To me this sort of stunt does not signal courage but opportunism. I'd be willing to say that he is intrepid for holding that position (a position that can so easily be read as antagonistic to the policies that gave his father political refuge), but inasmuch as it is a position motivated by fear, it's certainly not a courageous one.

Courage, in my mind, is the strength to uphold one's moral duties even in the face of foreseen or imminent harm. I can easily envision a courageous conservative saying: "Yes, it is true that by letting in political refugees from a terrorism-plagued country, we run some considerable risks, and yes, it is true that we cannot trust the federal government to do a flawless job of screening these refugees; and yet, for the moral integrity of our country, we will not skirt our duty to help. Even if we face harm as a consequence of our moral actions, we are a moral nation, and there is no greater harm we face than that of abandoning our principles for fear of harm. We are not afraid, and we will do our duty." Now that would sound courageous to my ears. Even if I may disagree with the too-dire assessment of risk included in the statement, I would have no trouble saying that this is a courageous attitude.

Of course, my view of courage then is more aligned with that of virtue ethics: courage is moral courage (the strength to act morally in the face of harm) instead of political "courage" (the intrepidity to say things that will generate controversy).

I guess that in a time at which most political decisions are argued for on consequentialist grounds, courage has become a euphemism for political incorrectness. It's annoying.

Pedro.

[Roger Slater]

I suppose it depends what you mean by "courage." Lots of people conflate it with acting in the face of danger and overcoming fear in order to accomplish a worthy objective, but to me it simply means acting in the face of danger and overcoming fear, even if your objective is evil. It takes courage to tightrope walk over the Grand Canyon even if you are doing so in order to kill a child and rob a bank on the other side. So I don't really care whether Cruz is courageous or not. I care what he wants to do, and I couldn't be more at odds with his objectives.

[Rick Mullin]

It means "heart".
RM

[Janice D. Soderling]

courage
noun 1. the quality of mind or spirit that enables a person to face difficulty, danger, pain, etc., without fear; bravery.

I do not think that Cruz' actions are courageous because he believes that his oppositional stance will benefit him in the long run. That isn't courage, that is opportunism.

opportunism
noun 1. the policy or practice, as in politics, business, or one's personal affairs, of adapting actions, decisions, etc., to expediency or effectiveness regardless of the sacrifice of ethical principles.

The Dictionary Lady.

[Julie Steiner]

There was a lot of heated discussion about cowardice soon after the 9-11 attacks. Seems relevant to this conversation, too.

[Janice D. Soderling]

But if the suicide bombers and the 9/11 highjackers had taken some kind of drug to turn off empathy (which I have always believed to be the case) it wasn't courageous. They were operating in zombie mode.

http://tribune.com.pk/story/28976/wh...uicide-bomber/

[Michael Cantor]

Getting back to the original topic, Ted Cruz is an opportunistic self-promoter who will say anything and do anything - including shutting down the US Government - to promote himself. Not his cause - himself. Mentioning his name and "courage" in the same sentence is a disservice to America.

(And I just realized that Pedro and Janice used the same word - "opportunism".) I'll save more time. What they said. Ted Cruz is appealing to the worst elements and instincts of America, and - like his twin, Joe McCarthy - is in it for the greater good of Ted Cruz.

[Brian Allgar]

Michael, one could even say that mentioning his name and "America" in the same sentence is a disservice to America.

[Roger Slater]

The problem is that "courage" is usually used as a compliment, even though the literal definition of the term allows it to be applied to people we do not wish in any way to compliment. But a soldier who risks his life in the face of enemy fire to save his platoon shows "courage" whether or not he's fighting for the country that we want to win the war.

Agreed, though, that Cruz hasn't done anything comparable.

[Julie Steiner]

Pretty close, though. "Courageous" and "outrageous" are literally only 10% different.