Americans idolize the renegade hero who stands up for right against all odds. We love movies and books about people who are willing to risk everything to protect the innocent or resist corruption. And yet, it seems as if in real life this character trait is rare.
A friend who recently lost his job received numerous phone calls and emails from colleagues commiserating with him and saying that they, too, had run-ins with his supervisor. But no one has been willing to say these things to my friend’s supervisor or to the head of the company.
I get it. Why would they be willing to risk their jobs and security for someone else? And yet, I find it sad to see this disconnect in our culture. We may idolize the few who take a risk, but the rules and patterns of our corporations and society do not embrace their behavior. People look away when they see something they don’t approve of and pretend they don’t know what is going on. Whistleblowers lose their jobs and find it hard to get new ones. Most people aren’t going to risk that, so they tuck their heads down, ignore what is going on and send sympathetic emails to those who are crushed by the system.
I thought about this a lot over the last week. I just finished rereading the Lord of the Rings series. In the end of “The Return of the King” Frodo and his pals return to the Shire to find it overrun with unsavory humans who are destroying the countryside. The few hobbits who stood up to this onslaught were languishing in jail, the others had been cowed into doing the men’s bidding despite the fact that they did not support what was happening. They were too frightened; they had families to support; it was easier to go along with what was going on than to resist.
In wartime, these people are considered collaborators. If their side loses, they often suffer in the aftermath. I’ve read of women being paraded through the streets of Paris, their heads shaved, carrying signs that read they’d slept with Germans. It’s easy to condemn such behavior. Collaborators appear to be weak and slimy. They abandon all their principles to survive. And yet, who wouldn’t? How many of us truly have what it takes to say, “No,” especially when we are hungry, desperate, frightened and have a family to protect?
I have never really had to face this question when the stakes were high. I quit a job once over a matter of principle. The act made me feel good, but I didn’t have a lot to lose. I wasn’t supporting a family. I could fall back on NOLS fieldwork. I was young and healthy. Plus I took my stance for myself, not for someone else. I could behave in what I considered a highly principled way without losing everything — just a job I no longer wanted. It felt good to take a stance, but my behavior didn’t really change anything.
What gives people the courage to stand up for what they believe in even when they know that act can result in the loss of a job or worse death? You have to be willing to risk everything to take such a chance. You have to be willing to sacrifice yourself for something you believe in, recognizing that your act is likely to go unrewarded and that your sacrifice may affect your loved ones negatively.
Who will do that undoubtedly depends on the individual and the cause. Some people may have very little to lose and so can take a stance without much risk. Like me quitting my job. Others may have been pushed so far, been so appalled by the injustice they observed that they cannot in good conscious ignore it. Some may have resources that allow them to be cavalier about losing pay and benefits or enough confidence in their value that they feel the can speak up without negative consequences. Others may be backed into a corner where the outcome is so bleak regardless of their actions that they find the courage to resist.
I don’t know really know what gives people the courage to be a hero. I do know that there is a disconnect between what we believe in and the way we behave. In movies and books people who are willing to stand up for their principles are applauded, and yet in most of our institutions, this same behavior would not be tolerated. You don’t get thanked for questioning authority, especially by authority.
In school my daughter is learning to value and honor the men and women who made history by standing up for their principles. She really believes our culture is built on the brave acts of these people, and it is. But that doesn’t mean it’s the norm. I’m not sure how she’ll feel when she begins to recognize the hypocrisy in our society. Rebellious acts don’t really become heroic until long after the cause is over and the good side won. Most of the time rebels are crushed, forced out, shut up.
So while I find myself feeling as if the people who sent sympathetic emails to my friend are weak, I also understand where they are coming from. I am not sure I’d have what it takes to risk my job for someone else if I could just as easily turn away, pretend nothing happened, avoid the people responsible and bury myself in my work.