What Is Courage Definition Essay

Courage is a word thrown about often these days, but few make a conscious effort find a deeper meaning of it. For many, the first thing that comes to mind is the lack of fear; however, using the Latin origin of courage meaning “heart,” it becomes clear that courage has a more extensive meaning than the absence of fear. In the fourteenth century AD, the French used the word corage to mean “heart” or “innermost feelings” (Online). The origins of courage help one to understand that the definition is not “a lack of fear”; it is “the ability to overcome the presence of fear when it is in one’s heart.” The meaning of courage can be simplified into a modern cliché: fight or flight. Will one fight for his cause despite the risks involved, or will …show more content…
Firefighters deal with dangerous situations daily. Undoubtedly the most important quality shared among firefighters and other civil service officers is the ability to make the correct decisions despite the inevitable presence of fear. Consider Nelson Mandela’s definition of courage: “I learned that courage was not the absence of fear, but the triumph over it. The brave man is not he who does not feel afraid, but he who conquers that fear” (Brainy 2). Surely a firefighter feels fear when he enters a building engulfed with flames, but it is critical that he keep cool in the face of peril to do his job well. Last year, President Obama recognized that “it takes a special kind of courage to be a peace officer, to be the one people turn to in their most desperate moments, to be willing to run into a dangerous situation when everyone else is running the other way.” Policemen must do put themselves in harm’s way in order to protect the people, and President Obama recognizes that the courage to do so is rare. Firefighters and policemen are willing to put their lives on the line to help other people, and this perfectly exemplifies the meaning of