Daring the Mighty?

Far better is it to dare mighty things, to win glorious triumphs, even though checkered by failure…than to rank with those poor spirits who neither enjoy much nor suffer much, because they live in a gray twilight that knows not victory nor defeat. – Theodore Roosevelt

Courage faces fear and thereby masters it. – Martin Luther King, Jr.

To go against the dominant thinking of your friends, of most of the people you see every day, is perhaps the most difficult act of heroism you can perform. – Theodore H. White

If you want a guarantee, buy a toaster. – Anonymous

Do me a favor for a moment, would you please? Take the next minute or two and think of someone you most admire. You know the one who really grabs you, inspires you and causes you to go “Wow.” It doesn’t matter if you know them personally or from a distance. What matters is that they have to be a deep inspiration to you. Got some one?

Think about them for a minute and ask yourself the following question: What is it about this person that inspires me?

How did you answer that question? Maybe it’s the person’s compassion or wisdom. Maybe it’s his or her ability to set and achieve goals. Maybe its a level of discipline or commitment to a cause.

I’ll bet I can tell you two accurate things about this exercise. I’ll bet that you didn’t think of yourself as the person who most inspires you. I’ll also bet that the thing that inspired you was not that this person gets up, goes to work every day, comes home, eats his dinner, reads some email and watches TV the rest of the night before going to bed. I’ll even go so far as to bet that the person who most inspires you does so because he or she dares to do mighty things.

There is a hidden theme in the quotes above. Can you guess what it is? It’s the fact that those who live — I mean really live, full satisfying lives — do so by facing their fears and daring to do the mighty.

I watched Star Trek yesterday, and was inspired by two lines in the movie. Line one: “I sure hope you know what you’re doing.” Line two: “So do I.” To me those two lines captured the essence of what I’m talking about. The essence of facing your fear and daring the mighty. Those two lines have haunted me ever since I heard them spoken.

Can I get personal with you for a moment? Thanks.

I love my country, the United States of America. I love her with a deep resolute passion. I’m also heart-broken at what I see in her current state of affairs. Here’s what I see:

1. A country whose citizens are driven by rampant greed and lost to an entitlement mentality;

2. A country highly influenced by an education and media system designed to indoctrinate people into the belief that there is no such thing as good or bad, right or wrong, excellence or mediocrity. That it’s all just a matter of personal taste or environmental influence;

3. A country that is losing control to a Government that is driven by corruption, injustice, irresponsibility and the lust for more and more power over its free citizens;

4. A country filled with “those poor spirits who neither enjoy much nor suffer much, because they live in a gray twilight that knows not victory nor defeat.”

I’m broken hearted because at one time America was so much more than this. And she can be again, if her citizens would face their fears, rise up and begin to once again dare the mighty.

After some thought I’ve decided that can’t live with a broken heart. I also can’t preach about daring the mighty without attempting to do the mighty myself.

I’m a writer. I may not be a very good one at the moment, but I’m a writer nonetheless. I can stand up, raise my voice and shout “ENOUGH!” I can call my fellow Americans to live by a higher standard. To start thinking instead of emoting. To resist the popular and pursue the rational. I can challenge them to live beyond their current commitment to personal entitlement. I can endorse the excellent and ridicule the mediocre that claims to be excellent. I can openly and verbally resist our cultural slide into the belief that standards are only a matter of personal taste. I can battle to the death our current movement into socialism. I can do the best I can to vote out the traitorous bastards who continually sell out our freedoms in order to maintain their own political power.

“I sure hope you know what you’re doing.”

“So do I.”

Will I succeed? Will I make an impact? Will my voice be the one that returns America back to her former greatness? Probably not. Most likely my shout will get lost in the noise of a thousand pleas for you to buy the shiniest new toy or to get rich quick with this or that new money making system. There are no guarantees, and I don’t need another toaster. I am, however, no longer going to live like I’ve currently been living. From today forward I’m changing directions and will no longer play it safe. I’m going to do everything I can to change the course of this country that I love with all my heart. I’m going to call her back to the things that made her great. I’m going to rise up and dare to do the mighty. Will you join me?

Picture by flicker user dammit_jill under Creative Commons License. Use of this picture does not constitute and endorsement by dammit_jill of the ideas in this post.

Leave a reply

Name (required)

Mail (will not be published) (required)

Website

Please leave these two fields as-is:

Protected by Invisible Defender. Showed 403 to 144 bad guys.