CHARACTER EDUCATION WORD

January 2012 - Courage

Doing the right thing in the face of difficulty and following your conscience instead of the crowd

Please look at the artwork that has been selected from the Booth Western Art Museum’s collection. We think these pieces of art provide good examples of courage in different arenas of life. As you look at the art, think about the message the artist is trying to convey and how you can apply that message in your life.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

In his painting, Beyond the Ridge, artist Paul Calle depicts a party of trappers surveying the horizon, hoping that the unexplored land before them would provide a bountiful harvest of animal furs. For these men it took a special kind of courage to go where no one had been before - leaving behind all that is known, and venturing into the unknown. This is the courage the fur trappers and mountain men had as they explored the newly purchased Louisiana territory in the early 1800s. You may not have thought about it, but you have probably ventured into the unknown. Maybe you had to change schools during the year or perhaps you were the first person to speak to a new student, who seemed lost and alone on their first day. You might not think of these situations as requiring courage, but they do, and it is these small acts of courage that prepare us for other times when great courage may be needed.

Beyond the Ridge by Paul Calle

Artist Don Troiani in his painting, Don’t Give an Inch, captures the final moments before Union Colonel Strong Vincent was mortally wounded at the Battle of Gettysburg. Colonel Vincent demonstrated great physical courage as he encouraged his men to hold the line saying, “Don’t Give an Inch.” Courage in time of conflict is sometimes easier to define than the quiet courage that is often required in living your life everyday. U. S. Senator and future President  John F. Kennedy, in his book Profiles in Courage, wrote “The courage of life is often a less dramatic spectacle than the courage of a final moment, but is no less a magnificent mixture of triumph and tragedy.” When you encounter the triumphs and tragedies in your daily life, do you demonstrate “the courage of life” that President Kennedy talked about? It’s not easy, but it is the right way to live.

Don’t Give an Inch by Don Troiani