Sunday Night With John: Bravery Can Be Spelled So Many Ways

Bravery is the act of moving forward in life even if you are facing a dangerous or frightening situation. Many variables have to string together for a person to come to the precipice of facing the decision to be brave or to fail to rise to the occasion. Social media has been set on fire this past week as we have debated the merits of bravery.  Many people have been citing Caitlin Jenner’s transition from a male to female, others have toted Noah Galloway, the Iraqi war veteran who has competed on Dancing With The Stars, and has become cross fit competitor.  While others have put forward Lauren Hill the basketball player who fulfilled her dream of playing college basketball while battling cancer.  But who is the bravest?  Aren’t they all brave? 

Most of the hate has been directed at Caitlyn Jenner as we have struggled to understand why an accomplished Olympian champion with a family decided to become a female. I’m no where near an expert on the transgender community and my guess is that most people we have such few interactions with this community that it’s easy to knock it down and to push forward traditional acts of bravery. I have read that Caitlyn did it for attention, that she is just playing dress up, and that we should strip Bruce Jenner of the gold medal he won years ago because of the change. 

My reaction to the hate I have seen on social media wonders: Why do we always put others down and chip away at people who seem deserving of at least a tip of the cap? It’s so easy to poke holes in any story and Caitlin Jenner has been the target on social media.  I can just as easily poke unnecessary holes in Noah and Lauren’s acts of bravery.

Noah fought in a war I don’t agree with and since I don’t agree with the war I can choose to step up onto my soapbox and find a million ways to say he wasn’t as brave as Caitlyn Jenner.  Lauren Hill battled cancer but I saw the videos of her games, the opposing team wasn’t really trying to stop her when she was on the court. Is she really brave if she wasn’t playing in a real game? Being able to look beyond your personal experience and beliefs and recognize that there is bravery all of situations is what we are missing here.

Noah, Lauren, and Caitlyn all faced either dangerous or frightening situations. Noah faced a life after war having to change how he did things. Lauren faced death as she chased a dream, and Caitlyn faced redefining every relationship she has had for 65 years. If you don’t think what Caitlyn faced is freighting, look at your loved ones and imagine telling them that everything they know about you is changing.  Imagine explaining to them even though you know you are loved, you don’t love yourself in your body. Imagine that they might shun you, yell at you, tell you they don’t understand, and they will leave you if you go through with it.

If we as a society want to continue to make it a competition on social media, we will and it will continue to be an argument rather than a space for empathy and compassion I will choose to use my place in social media to say thank you to three wonderful human beings who have given three different but exceptional examples of bravery. I hope any of my loved ones facing difficult situations would tackle life with Noah’s energy, Lauren’s grace, and Caitlyn’s humor. I hope all three of these fierce individuals have found peace through their actions.

Bravery comes from having to fight some sort of battle. I view Lauren not as a victim of cancer but as a college basketball player. I view Noah not has a wounded warrior, but as a warrior who could totally kick my little butt, and I view Caitlyn not as someone seeking attention, but seeking peace. The world can always use more peace, and as far as who is the bravest I cannot tell the different between the three.