Courage: A Lost Virtue

President John Kennedy thought courage was the most noble and important virtue a leader could possess. In fact he wrote a book, "Profiles in Courage" about those who had the courage to make decisions and the courage to propose change at critical times.

Although President over 40 years ago, Kennedy was correct in his conviction and he himself was courageous in his decisions and his desire to challenge and change the status quo. He refused to expand the U.S. commitment in Viet Nam beyond military advisers and decided to withdraw all Americans from that country if he was reelected President. He also had the courage to reject those voices who wanted nothing less than a military strike and invasion of Cuba during the Cuban Missile crisis.

Courage is what our political leaders have lacked for a number of years, this includes members of congress in both party. It has been the norm for some time now for decisions that are made to be driven by the news media and special interest groups interested only in their own pronouncements. Our political leaders have succumbed to this unAmerican process that they helped create.

There are many leaders and members of congress who are showing their lack of leadership concerning health-care and other issues before the nation. They look for any little excuse to justify their position and lack of courage. As for the news media, they have lost all courage to stand up and be counted as a force of good balance.

President Truman had the courage to fire General Douglas McArthur during the Korean war when McArthur challenged his authority on Korean policy. And today we hear people in authority say give the generals any thing they want in Afghanistan even before they know what policy President Obama will lay out for that war. President Truman was a leader with courage who made major decisions during his term in office. He is noted for a number of things he said. Two of his sayings are listed below and both are timely and speak about courage.

America was not built on fear, America was built on courage, on imagination and an unbeatable determination to do the job at hand.

Men make history and not the other way around. In periods where there is no leadership, society stands still. Progress occurs when courageous, skillful leaders seize the opportunity to change things for the better.

Today's leaders need to seek the leadership and courage of Presidents Truman and Kennedy because the past is the key to the future.