What is Courage and Strength? By Al Sikes

There it is, a phrase edited into a mixture of prayerful words. In religious speak, the words are called the Liturgy. It is an interesting continuum positioned to be instructive and impactful. The appeal is direct; its intent is not hidden. This last Sunday, its impact was topical. The words occurred at the end of the service: “Send us now into the world in peace, and grant us strength and courage to love and serve you with gladness and singleness of heart; through Christ our Lord.”

The essence of this phrase touches on timeless themes in philosophy, literature, and religion. It is not unique to Christianity. My quotation derives from a transcendent source, but I would guess that most of us have experienced this objective truth in a very personal way at some point in our lives—words and actions that have healed.

“Grant us strength and courage.” Too often, we use the words “strength and courage” to denote aggression or toughness—“never back down.” Popular culture insists that we can power through whatever resistance we face if we choose the right stance or combination of words or, in more extreme cases, weapons.

The overarching question is whether an aggressive offense or defense is strength or weakness. Is it the best way forward? Sometimes it is necessary but mostly not.

Now, I must have recited what I will call the peace fact hundreds of times but infrequently paused and thought of the words introspectively. This last Sunday, I paused. My mind was a jumble. How many times did I equate strength with love? How many times did I recognize humility, the opposite of self-love, to be shaped by courage?

At any given moment it is hard to know what cultural factors shape our attitudes. I do not know why the sub-culture we call politics has hardened and too often resulted in damage in recent years. I do know that poll after poll reports that we, most of us, are wary and weary.

We worry about what “social media” is doing to our children. Maybe we should ask what it is doing to our adults? And how the consequences of  not gathering with neighbors weekly and joining in a pledge is affecting our lives? I also wonder about the decline of churches that focus on a gospel of love.

What I do know is that large segments of our population either never knew or have forgotten whose leadership resulted in the most remarkable cultural change in the 20th Century. The answer, Martin Luther King. While the Black Panthers preached combat, Dr. King preached love. Yes, his peaceful engagement shortened his life, but better a consequential life than a long and bitter one.

Today from municipal to national politics we are frequently yelling at each other. In the long run toxic words and phrases weaken, they don’t strengthen. Courage is found not in anger but in love.

Recall the words of President Dwight Eisenhower, our leading General in World War II and two-term President: “Humility must always be the portion of any man who receives acclaim in the blood of his followers and sacrifices of his friends.”  British Prime Minister Winston Churchill, the quintessential leader during WW II. “Arrogance is a wall. Humility is a bridge.”

But let me pause, I get it. Political warriors are impatient; they are filled with predispositions, dismissive of other points of view. Plus, social media invites instantaneous reactions. But even when you are right, yelling at people and trashing their views will simply intensify division and ultimately weaken our country. And to what effect?

Throughout history there have been gradations of a Right/Left divide in politics. This is especially true in democracies.  Now, in America, the ideological differences are often characterized in slanderous terms. Those on the left some claim are Communists and on the right, Fascists.

Generalizing people’s persona to hateful extremes is definitely a weakness. And exceedingly polarizing. It’s not that we shouldn’t debate, but our methods should recognize that after the debate we need to sit down for a drink as friends.

Al Sikes is the former Chair of the Federal Communications Commission under George H.W. Bush. Al writes on themes from his book, Culture Leads Leaders Follow published by Koehler Books.