Your house shall not be an anchor but a mast - Khalil Gibran
Activism
Would I be brave enough?
The death, at 98, has been reported of Irena Sendlerowa, a Pole who organised the rescue of 2500 Jewish children from the Warsaw ghetto between 1940 and 1943.
As part of the Zegota resistance movement, she worked in conditions of extreme personal risk which led to her eventual capture, torture and close escape from execution.
When I hear of people like this, I often wonder if I would be brave enough. Or would I be a collaborater? I don’t know. I hope I never have to find out. But I wonder.
Discussion
8 comments for “Would I be brave enough?”
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© 2008 Anchors and Masts. 
Tess, I think you would be brave enough. But I hope you never have to find out either. I hope and pray that noce of us ever have to find out again.
I’ve often thought of this very question ever since I was a child and learned of the Holocaust. I would hope I, too, could do this, but we simply won’t know till we are tried. Like Hudson, I certainly hope we don’t have to find out in our lifetimes, but who knows? People and nations never seem to learn from history and seem doomed to repeat it.
There have been some truly amazing people who have walked this earth, incredible people. I hope this lady had a happy life once she was able to put this behind her. As others have said, we will not know till we’re tested, and then we might surprise ourselves!
While I was reading some more background on this amazing woman, I found a whole collection of obituaries in The Times called, simply Heroines. Here is the link:
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/system/topicRoot/Heroines/
I haven’t read them all, but what struck me of those I have read is how ordinary yet extraordinary they are.
Anyway, thank you for commenting, and Maya, good to see you again!
God bless her.
The news of bravery brings questions to me about standing up to the “test.” I fear I could not pass the “test” - but I have more fear of those I love the most who would NOT back down from the test even with their own death imminent! I do pray I never have to see THEIR courage tested!
Small acts of courage are tests that may be faced in day to day life rather than in a world shattering event, such as standing up against those (standing up means just having the courage to say that you think they are wrong in their judgment) who would declare that another race should immediately learn the English language or be shipped out of town immediately for their stupidity, etc. My heart beats faster as I try to smile and engage in a conversation about why they think that and that I disagree for certain reasons….I’ve found it’s a good way to shut down any further conversation - they do not want to know why I (I, probably un-American, they knew it all along) would take an opposite stand for someone they felt was a despicable minority - yep, I’m learning not to back down on the little things anyway:)
great question, tess. i, too, hope none of us ever are faced with the really “big” decision again. however, i also (as does SS) think it is in the small day to day places where we are tested time and time again. will i be brave enough to stand up for the “underdog” when it goes against the trend of others around me? i certainly hope so. i would want others to do the same for me. and, tess, my dear, i believe you are one of the special “others.”
thanks for the thinking conversation!
I really agree with you, SS and Lucy (by the way, SS, in the context your initials are, er, ironic!). It is the small things we can train ourselves to stand up for.