On Cowardice

It can run like a plague through our loved ones or our leaders, leaving tears of blood in its wake. Either on the battlefield or on the playground, Cowardice is an infection that needs to be cut out with a knife. I’ve watched men weep, hiding under plastic tables while bombarded with mortar fire. I’ve witnessed a strong, independent women I respected turn tail and run, her flight/fight response eternally corrupted. I once conversed with a man clinging to life, covered in his own blood, gargling on it as he spoke, his wounds self-inflicted. He would rather face death then face the courtroom where the look on his son’s face after his conviction would do more harm than his knife ever could. Cowardice is cold-blooded, yet it can run in most everyone’s veins. The difference is how you might face your fears, how you handle defeat and if you confront your opposition opposed to running like cattle at the first scent of the wolves.

Own Everything-  Own your mistakes, own your problems, own your enemies. I’ve made mistakes. Some small, some monumental. I’ve made bonehead moves and stepped on my dick more than most. It is only the cowards among us that can’t admit when they’re wrong. You’ve got problems you can’t handle? Own them and ask for help. Help not coming? Then own your shit and handle your business. Believe me cream puff, there are others on this earth that would kill to have your problems. Is your “arch nemesis” destroying your life? Own it. Go around, above or through him to meet your goal. Be twice as strong, twice as fast and twice as smart as your enemy and utterly fucking destroy him. Ownership, true ownership takes a lot of gusto and self-worth. But when you own your mistakes, people notice. The greatest leaders of our time have owned their mistakes, learned from them and capitalized on that knowledge.

Face Your Fears- I fear a few things on this earth, however, my own cowardice to confront these has yet to show itself. I fear utter darkness, raging fires and high places. Childish fears I’ve kept for some time. Most of you fear Death and snakes, then spiders. In that order actually. All of my fears, I’ve been able to tackle through my daily life. With utter darkness, I’ve worked the night shift in military and law enforcement for most of my adult life, forcing my mind to forget this childish weakness. Burned badly as a child and witness to 5th degree burns and melted men, the skin either black or slipping from bones, I’ve had my fill of fire and heat. Tackling this, I’ve made upper farenheits a sort of hobby. Often at parties you’ll find me  blowing fire from my mouth, flirting with facial destruction, I heat metal close to melting in a propane forge, bathing in sparks when I strike it on an anvil. And I won’t go into how I deal with heights, if that isn’t obvious enough. Owning, confronting and dealing with your fears is the only way to defeat the cowardice that lies just beneath our courage. Flight responses can only run out. Running away from confrontation (most in society avoid confrontation entirely) won’t work forever. Running from people who disagree with you isn’t going to solve a damn thing. Choosing not to acknowledge their existence is just showing your own cowardly hand. Ghosting will only paint a picture of yourself that shows everyone your own insecurities. Break away from that stigma, be the bigger man/woman and deal with your shit like an adult.

Giving into fear on the battlefield shouldn’t exist in the current age of a volunteer military, yet still you can find it. Some men only enjoy the idea of soldiering. The uniforms, the gun, the customs, all can be fun for a young person to embrace. But war tests us all, from the line cook in the chow hall to the infantryman in the trench. Untested, undisciplined troops find their worth isn’t worth much and their brothers pay the price for it. Good leaders put their own well-being aside, forgetting their fears and show their subordinates how to meet the challenge. Poor leaders do much the opposite. When the bombs drop and your leaders are crying in bunkers, running hysterically and rambling to themselves, it is you who needs to carry the torch. Their cowardice will infect others, fear can spread like wildfire and its up to the lower grades to pick up the slack. Prepare for this, or succumb to fear like so many before you.

I could go on and on. I’ve seen men crumble against opposition. Women defeated by mundane tasks. Don’t let cowardice rule your life. Man up and handle it. Thats all I’ve got.

U.