PHILADELPHIA EAGLES CHEERLEADERS
In the spirit of a recent talk about moral courage, I would like to share about past opportunities to show moral courage that I did not take advantage of. In this case, it was actually two opportunities, and I did not seize either.
The one and only time I have been to an NFL game was two years ago. A friend from church has tickets through his office and couldn’t go, so he passed them off to me. I took one of my close friends and we were excited to partake in the madness.
When we arrived, we found ourselves sitting next to four guys with beers who took turns cheering on the home team and whistling at the cheerleaders. My friend shot one of the four guys a dirty look, probably because the guy was with his son, who appeared to be about ten, and yet was probably the most lecherous of the bunch.
My friend was showing moral courage, taking a stand against lust instead of passing it off as what guys do at football games. I did not show such courage, probably because I had my hands full trying desperately not to give into that same lust, and lacked the integrity to call someone on it myself.
This guy didn’t take too well to my friend glaring at him. “What the %$#@! are you looking at?” My friend and I were petrified. “If you look at me like that again, I’m going to kick your %$#@! ass.” Here was a second opportunity to show moral courage, to stand up for my good friend, if not stand down this other guy.
But instead, I tried to distance myself. I wished I could somehow make it seem that I was not with my friend. I valued my own personal safety over sticking up for a friend who was doing the right thing.
Fortunately, my friend did nothing and neither did the guy. There was no fistfight, but the tension hung in the air for the next several minutes. Finally, I broke the ice: “So, did you get your tickets from ABC Insurance Company too?” We quickly engaged in some small talk, and everyone went about their business. I was relieved to be able to focus on the game and not worry about being in the middle of a brawl.
But two years later, I still look back with regret on that day. I strongly believe that crises demonstrate who you really are inside. You can think you’re one way, and even act that way most of the time. But when the chips are down, who you are in those moments is who you really are. And that day, not once but twice, I showed that I lacked moral courage.
In the spirit of a recent talk about moral courage, I would like to share about past opportunities to show moral courage that I did not take advantage of. In this case, it was actually two opportunities, and I did not seize either.
The one and only time I have been to an NFL game was two years ago. A friend from church has tickets through his office and couldn’t go, so he passed them off to me. I took one of my close friends and we were excited to partake in the madness.
When we arrived, we found ourselves sitting next to four guys with beers who took turns cheering on the home team and whistling at the cheerleaders. My friend shot one of the four guys a dirty look, probably because the guy was with his son, who appeared to be about ten, and yet was probably the most lecherous of the bunch.
My friend was showing moral courage, taking a stand against lust instead of passing it off as what guys do at football games. I did not show such courage, probably because I had my hands full trying desperately not to give into that same lust, and lacked the integrity to call someone on it myself.
This guy didn’t take too well to my friend glaring at him. “What the %$#@! are you looking at?” My friend and I were petrified. “If you look at me like that again, I’m going to kick your %$#@! ass.” Here was a second opportunity to show moral courage, to stand up for my good friend, if not stand down this other guy.
But instead, I tried to distance myself. I wished I could somehow make it seem that I was not with my friend. I valued my own personal safety over sticking up for a friend who was doing the right thing.
Fortunately, my friend did nothing and neither did the guy. There was no fistfight, but the tension hung in the air for the next several minutes. Finally, I broke the ice: “So, did you get your tickets from ABC Insurance Company too?” We quickly engaged in some small talk, and everyone went about their business. I was relieved to be able to focus on the game and not worry about being in the middle of a brawl.
But two years later, I still look back with regret on that day. I strongly believe that crises demonstrate who you really are inside. You can think you’re one way, and even act that way most of the time. But when the chips are down, who you are in those moments is who you really are. And that day, not once but twice, I showed that I lacked moral courage.
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