The Cowards Among Us

It's all over the news by now so I'm quite late.

Crazies in Denver were planning to kill Obama and had the rifles, ammunition and bulletproof vests needed to execute their plan. They were only caught after local police caught one of them driving drunk and found drugs and guns in his vehicle. Here is an article about the plot.

Have you ever been a coward?

I know I have. A coward in work, a coward in school, a coward in love and a coward in fights. I've seen myself shrink from many big moments and falter when I needed to take flight. My balls have shriveled into peas under pressure and I've seen my ideals disappear when confronted with true fear.

I've been a coward.

But, not always.

Sometimes I've risen to the occasion. I've hit game-winning shots, and fought impossible fights. I've stood up to authority and stared down bullies. My balls have hung low and I've asserted myself when others crumbled.

I have been something much more than a coward, almost a hero.

We are all cowards and heroes. Often we show these traits in the most mundane ways. Not challenging your neighbor about his overgrown grass, cowardice. Refusing to allow the shady mechanic to overcharge you for repair work, heroism. Simple things, but still important.

However, sometimes we see heroism and cowardice displayed in much more spectacular ways. Congress agreeing with Bush to invade Iraq was cowardice. The devotion that many Muslim Americans still have for this country after being terrorized the past seven years is heroic.

This story about Obama is an example of cowardice and heroism.

The men who would have killed Barack Obama from 750 yards away while wearing bulletproof vests are cowards. Authorities are saying their plot had no chance of succeeding, and that may be true. But, they planned to gun down a loving husband and father of two because he had the audacity to seek the presidency and that makes them sniveling, despicable cowards.

On the other hand, Obama has become a hero of sorts in my mind. I don't always agree with his decisions, and he is just a politician. But, it takes a certain type of heroism to stand up to death to get a job. Even if it is the most powerful political job in America.

How many of you love your jobs? I can't raise my hand, but I'm sure some of you did. Those of you who love your jobs, how many of you would die to do that job? In fact, how many things are there in your life you would risk death to accomplish?


My list is painfully short.

Obama the Hero may have been created by his amazing ambition, but he is still heroic. How many other politicians can say they've faced three or four moderately serious assassination plots before they were even nominated by their party? Shoot, as horrible a job as George Bush has done in the past eight years, how many serious death threats has he received from Americans? Now that's saying something.

I've read some wonderful expressions of pride from black people at what Obama has accomplished so far, and some painful concerns about what it would do to black people's collective psyches if he was killed. I won't add too much more to the topic because I don't know if what I have to say is all that eloquent.

Basically, it would fuck us up.

It's that simple. If this man joined the long list of "black leaders" gunned down by hateful white people and brainwashed black people, it would be devastating. I don't know if many of us would ever commit to this country after that.

Yet, without the threat of death, how many of us would really appreciate the sacrifice of the Obama family? The willingness of Michelle Obama and her children to deal with the possible death of their husband and father says something about them. I know the girls don't understand that much about the threats, but I think they know enough. Daddies are always heroes to their little girls, but I think Obama has done more than that.

He's become a flawed hero to us all by going forward when so many other people want you to fall.

I think we can all practice that heroism.