What is courage? This question worries primarily boys, since it is the cornerstone in the problem of their self-identification. A man must be brave - this is the first quality that comes to mind first when we think about the strong half of humanity. In our article, we will try to answer the question of what is courage.
Definition is where you need to start, first of all.
Definition of Courage
Courage in its most general form can be defined as the ability to be. Imagine raising a person. Specific moral imperatives (ideas about what should be) are invested in it, according to which it is worth living. Then he finds himself in an environment where his ideas enter into a determined and irreconcilable contradiction with the general structure. So, to live according to personal rules and norms, courage is needed. This is exactly what “ability to be” means. That's what courage is.
Military valor and courage
Now let's turn to the more obvious things. When a person, in the face of danger, does not give in to it, but fearlessly goes to meet troubles - this is courage. The most impressive courage Hollywood has given us over the past 20 years is the proud Scotsman William Wallace and the movie Braveheart (1995). Even severe men cry about his fate if they are watching this picture for the first time.
Brave is afraid?
Sure! But in the mass consciousness, there is a myth that the brave is the one who does not feel awe of danger. This, of course, is not true. A brave person does not pay attention to his feelings and emotions. In the aforementioned film, Mel Gibson played in such a way that it is clear: his hero is afraid. It is difficult to say what exactly, but nothing human is alien to him. Hollywood Wallace overcomes itself every time and does not think about fear, because all this has already gone too far.
But on the battlefield there is no time to be afraid, you need to fight with the British, save Scotland. The film is actually about how personal and highly specialized revenge and bitterness are transformed into a nationwide and universal human cause of rebellion against tyranny and lawlessness. And in it there is no longer room for fears and doubts. Thus, we have another answer to the question, what is courage.
George McFly
With warriors, firefighters and rescuers, everything is more or less clear. They have to take risks on duty. And what do we ordinary people do? In our life, is there a place for achievement? To answer these questions and clearly distinguish between the concepts of “courage” and “courage”, you need to turn to another visual material of the “Dream Factory”, namely the film trilogy “Back to the Future” (first film).
The main character, Marty McFly, has a father - George McFly. Crispin Glover talentedly plays junk at the very beginning of the film. George is such a typical American loser. On the one hand, he is an excellent pupil at school, smart, reads books, and even writes science fiction stories (this is revealed later). One misfortune: he lacks the courage to repulse the hooligans at school. Then these same bad guys become his colleagues at work and continue, speaking in Russian, to ride him: he writes reports for them, etc.
The son, Marty, sees all this, but does not know how to help his father. And here Doc Emmett Brown invents a time machine. Marty does not want to use the friend’s find for personal purposes, but it turns out that his father still takes courage and answers to the hooligans - “knocks Biff off with one blow”.
And his life is fundamentally changing. After 30 years, when Marty returns to his present from his parental past, George is a famous science fiction writer, and not an office employee, hardly distinguishable against the general background.
Of course, in the masterpiece of Robert Zemeckis and Bob Gale there are enough exaggerations, but in general the film shows what an important role a decisive act can play in a person’s life.
And yes, we promised to say the difference between courage and courage. There is no fundamental specificity, as it seems, it is a matter of taste, terminology and context. The word "courage" is usually used when it comes to military or, so to speak, combat feats.
Otherwise, we hope that our article was useful to the reader, and for himself he was able to answer the question of what is courage. If so, then we can assume that our task has been completed.