“I
learned that courage is not the absence of fear, but the triumph over it. The
brave man is not he who does not feel afraid, but he who conquers that fear.”
---Nelson
Mandela
Fear can either freeze or motivate
people. At the sight of fear, some people cower and hide, while others overcome
and are encouraged by its existence. Nelson Mandela, a philanthropic South
African president who inspired the world with his words and ideas, argues that
the attribution of “courage is not the absence of fear, but the triumph over
it. The brave man,” he contends, “is not he who does not feel afraid, but he
who conquers that fear.” Mandela’s claim, in plainsman’s terms, is the
philosophy that those who surmount fear are the courageous ones, not those who simply
lack or avoid exposure to it. This is most commonly the case of the soldiers in
the military, including that of the United States.
Nelson Mandela declares that those
who are courageous are no those who do not feel fear, but those who overpowers
the fear. The epitome of this idea is shown in the soldiers of the United
States military. The soldiers are pushed to their breaking point during boot
camp in order to prepare themselves for the war, forcing the recruits to
overcome their fears. For when you are in Afghanistan, the insurgents do not
care if you are afraid, they simply care that you are their opposition. It is
life or death out in the sands, and is not for the weak at heart. For this
reason, the soldiers of the United States military are especially courageous because
they not only run towards their fears (for everyone has a somewhat fear of
dying), but overcome their fears in the interest of serving for their country.
These soldiers are the courageous ones, Mandela claims, instead of those of
general population who avoid their fears and self-proclaim themselves as
courageous even though they live a life without fears.
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