Courage. What comes to your mind when you hear the word? Is it a firefighter rushing into a burning building to save a child trapped inside? Surfers who fend off a shark to save a mate? Police who go into dangerous situations to shut down a drug ring? It absolutely takes courage to do these things, although most say they have done them without a great deal of regard for personal safety. They saw a need and hastened to help.
It Takes Courage To Stand Up For Right
There are different kinds of courage, and not all of them involve physical danger. Take the case of Master Sargent Roddie Edmonds, an American soldier during WWII.
We Are All Jews Here
Near the end of the war, Sargent Edmonds was captured in the Battle of the Bulge, and sent to Stalag IXA POW camp near Ziegenhain, along with over 1000 other American soldiers. The German officers in charge of the camp had strict orders on how to deal with Jewish American soldiers, and the commanding officer ordered them to separate from the rest of the American soldiers. Sargent Edmonds was having none of that. As the highest ranking soldier among the POWs, he ordered all of the American soldiers to separate.
“We are all Jews here,” he told the officer, knowing full well that any Jews among the group would be sent either to a death camp or to a slave labour camp, where most would not survive.
“You can’t all be Jews,” the officer replied.
“We are all Jews here,” insisted Roddie. The officer held his gun to Roddie’s head.
“I will give you one last chance to change your mind,” he said.
Sargent Edmonds gave his name, rank, and serial number – the only ID required under the Geneva Convention.
“If you shoot me, you will have to shoot all of us, because we all know what you have done, and you will be tried for war crimes when the war is over,” he told the officer. Faced with this threat, the officer withdrew, and survivors estimate that over 200 Jewish American soldiers were saved through the stubborn bravery of this one man. It takes courage, rock-solid moral courage, to hold your ground in the face of death.
Roddie Edmonds’ story went untold until recently when his son Chris Edmonds began to piece together what exactly happened in that POW camp. And now, Israel is posthumously honouring the man who went out of his way to save the lives of so many Jewish soldiers. It takes courage to stand for what is right when death is a split second away. Israel recognizes this and thanks someone who was willing to take the risk.
It Takes Courage To Stand Up For Morality
What does moral courage look like under more peaceful circumstances? There are plenty of opportunities for displaying moral courage in this day and age – but how often do we see it? How often do we give a watered down message so we “don’t offend” someone? Do we ever turn a blind eye to blatant corruption and evil because “it’s none of our business?” When the vocal minority propose something that will undermine the fabric of society, do we keep our mouths closed because “we don’t want to get involved?”
It takes courage to go against the flow of popular opinion and societal trends. But should the rubble of compromise bury our moral convictions? Maybe we only have a little voice, but when we join with enough other little voices, we can make a big impact – as Sargent Edmonds’ story illustrates. It takes courage, but someone needs to stand up to protect the moral fabric of society.
So I encourage you to stand up for what is right. Speak up when you hear something that you believe is wrong. Don’t just walk away. Take action. Do something to uphold the good in the world. You never know the impact you might have on the world.
http://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/master-sgt-roddie-edmonds-honored-israel-defending-jews-n504441