WHO ARE COWARDS?

The answer is simple: They are the faint hearted. Joe was walking along a lonely road talking on his phone. A man I will call Gag suddenly swooped on Joe to seize his phone. Both Joe and Gag were total strangers to me. I was watching what was happening from a distance. Would I go to help Joe? I would seek instant answers to several questions: Was Gag more powerful than me? Was he armed? Would my going to Joe’s help endanger my life? I was recently married and my wife depended on me. The ethics of going to help Joe was daunting. I am not particularly faint hearted but Gag appears desperate. He will surely attack anyone who attempts to overpower him. I quickly take a picture of the assailant. I can raise an alarm seeking assistance if required. But Gag had fled with Joe’s phone. Was I a coward? No. I called police who came within minutes. I gave them a picture of Gag. Gag was instantly identified and was in police custody 48 hours later. Joe’s phone was returned to him.

In a case that happened, Mark who saw a Gag attack a Joe rushed to the Joe’s aid. That Gag pulled out a dagger and inflicted cuts on Mark’s face before disappearing with that Joe’s phone. Brave Mark had to be treated for several bleeding injuries and had to spend money on medical treatment and suffer pain besides facing partial disfiguration of his features. Most people would think of consequences before becoming ‘brave’.

I am not a coward. Why didn’t I go to Joe’s aid? Not because he was a total stranger. Not because I didn’t want to help him. I only considered my self-interest and the risk to my life. Was I selfish? May be but there is virtue in selfishness.

Take the case of a group of boys who jumped into a river at an unknown point. No doubt they were good at swimming.  But they ignored the flow of water and the fact that where they had started swimming, the water was deep and was swirling. Of the 5 who started swimming, 2 were swept away. Seeing the 2 boys being dragged away in the current, a looker-on also jumped in for rescue. But he was also drowned. Was it bravery? No. It was sheer thoughtlessness. He should have attempted to save the lives of the 2 boys when the danger to his own life was minimal. The swimmers hadn’t realized the hazard at that point in the river and had recklessly jumped into the river to meet a watery grave.

Let us look at the case of 2 elderly sisters S1 and S2. They had gone on a pilgrimage and a sea bath was enjoined on them as part of a ritual. The sisters hadn’t ever visited that spot. S2 was the younger and swam further before she was overwhelmed by the waves. Seeing S2 struggling in the water, S1 rushed to help her but both of them were drowned. The 2 sisters had lived together and were mutually helpful. S1 did her best to help her sister but she failed. Affection for the sister had made her attempt at a rescue she wasn’t capable of. She had risked her life without realising her age and ability to swim fast and long.

There was a similar case of Dick where affection made the man run to save his son. Dick and his little son Willy were at a restaurant outside which they had parked their car. The road was very busy with heavy vehicles driving through at speed. Dick got his son an ice cream and was settling the bill when Willy suddenly ran out into the road. Dick followed and was just in time to push the boy out of the way of a speeding concrete truck but was himself crushed under the wheels of the truck. Courage comes when affection is involved. There was a recent case where there was a fire in a floor of a multi-floor apartment building. The building had been made burglar proof by installing steel grilles. The owner of the apartment which had caught fire was out when the fire happened. When he returned, he was shocked to see his wife caught behind grilles with the fire raging right behind her. She was asphyxiated by smoke and it only remained for the husband to see his wife being virtually burnt alive as it were. Fire service could not reach the trapped woman. People are mere lookers on when such tragedies occur in life. Bravery in such cases can only be in finding the courage to withstand the consequences. Fortunately such cases are rare.

Dangers are prevalent even in healing. Affection and courage often go together. Fred and Agnes were a devoted pair. Agnes developed a problem with an internal organ which needed partial augmentation. Fred donated a piece from himself despite his age. While Agnes recovered, Fred passed away not long afterwards. It wasn’t only bravery but affection which made Fred the organ donor to his wife. He felt he couldn’t live without her. Of course certain organs are available at a price in certain cases but there are risks associated with buying organs for various reasons known to the medical profession.

Mankind has reason to help others in an emergency. But persons who do it shouldn’t subordinate their lives to the welfare of others. A person shouldn’t sacrifice himself to the need of others. Relief of their sufferings is not his prime concern. Any help he gives is an act of generosity and not a moral duty. It must be remembered that disasters are marginal and incidental in living and if help is skipped it isn’t a prime responsibility and can’t be taken as cowardice. Bravery is needed while waging a war, rescuing of wounded or stranded comrades in war, overcoming incidents of lawlessness in civilian life, or helping to save say passengers held up on high in cable cars.

Cowards are those who don’t speak up in situations where silence can be taken to mean either agreement or sanction for evil. It will also apply to power seeking politicians moved by patriotic concern for public good. Disputes are settled by compromise without considering the merits of the issues such as between an aggressor and an invaded country. History would have been different if these aspects had been researched and lessons learnt. To conclude,  all ‘towns’ are only full of such ‘cowards’! The ‘brave’ are rare.

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