The Marine Veteran Who Says Moral Courage Is Harder Than Physical Courage
Rye Barcott profiles ten lawmakers — five Republicans, five Democrats — who chose the common good over their careers.
The Big Idea: Bravery and courage aren’t the same thing — and the difference matters more than most people realize. Bravery can be instinctive, even self-serving. Courage is a deliberate choice to serve something larger than yourself, especially when it costs you.
Why It Matters: In a political environment where simply being photographed with someone from the other party can become a liability, moral courage — the willingness to risk reputation and relationships for principle — is increasingly rare and increasingly necessary. The “outrage machine” punishes exactly the behavior that democracy depends on.
Try This Today: Think of one person you consistently disagree with politically. Reach out to that person, not to debate, but just to stay in relationship. That kind of small, deliberate act is the foundation of courage.
These ideas come from Courage Can Save Us: Ten Extraordinary Americans and the Fight for Our Future by Rye Barcott. Rye is a Marine veteran, social entrepreneur, and co-founder and CEO of With Honor, a cross-partisan organization that supports principled veteran leadership in public office. Read on for 5 of his big ideas.
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1. What’s the difference between bravery and courage?
Bravery, while a notable attribute, is different from courage. Bravery can be instinctive. It doesn’t necessarily require thinking; it can be reactive. In the military, we spend a lot of time training to be ready for intense moments when muscle memory can almost kick in. Bravery can also be self-serving.
Courage, on the other hand, is a decision. It’s a choice that weighs the risks in any situation and then chooses to serve something larger than oneself.
In the prologue of the book, I spend some time focused on the Stoics and Marcus Aurelius, who defined the common good as something that can serve many different things: a principle, your family, your community, or your country. Courage is always in service of something larger than oneself.
2. What’s the difference between physical courage and moral courage?
Oftentimes, acts of courage are almost hidden. They don’t necessarily reveal themselves.
Physical courage is the risking of the body. We often build monuments for this type of courage. I just finished an op-ed reflecting on the 82nd anniversary of D-Day and the iconic storming of the beaches to liberate Europe.
Moral courage, on the other hand, is a risk to reputation and friendships. Some believe it can be as deep as the soul. It pertains to one’s integrity, and oftentimes individuals find that this type of courage is harder to muster. Again, it is often quiet and hidden.
In this book, I surface such moments, particularly in the lives of public officials who served in the military and the FBI and then went on to the unforgiving environment of modern politics.
3. Why is bipartisan courage important?
Each of the individuals I cover in this book—five Republicans and five Democrats—often disagree with each other on matters of policy, but they treat each other with respect and dignity, and they have the courage to be bipartisan.
That doesn’t mean they bend to the other side’s ideas necessarily. Rather, it means they are willing to build those relationships, even when it’s very difficult to do so.
This is so important for the country and part of the motivation behind my book. These days, just being in a room with somebody from the other side can be weaponized and become a liability.
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4. How does today’s information environment affect political courage?
Someone once reflected that it’s the media’s problem. It’s larger than the media because many of the sources of influence and information for Americans today are not part of the establishment media.
In fact, many are individual podcasters and commentators who don’t necessarily have a standard of truth they need to meet. This has led to what one of the veterans profiled in the book refers to as the “outrage machine.”
This makes political courage more challenging because we often punish moments when people stand up against their own tribe or party. There are no easy solutions other than to seek the truth and, to the best of your ability, to always speak the truth.
5. How can courage and service help save us?
Courage means standing for what is right in pursuit of the common good. It is service, and service can save us. I believe that’s the case at an individual level, in large part because service gives you a way to focus on something larger than yourself.
This is a theme throughout the lives of each of the Americans profiled in this book. They’re not perfect. They’re flawed. But they are pursuing the common good and trying to do what’s right in a difficult time.
I hope that they inspire you.