While Schneier’s article is fine, as far as it goes, it misses the point generally. Courage is a learned skill. If courage hasn’t been learned, then it is fairly easy to terrorize.
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What is courage? Well, it is doing the “right thing” despite that taking work or having risk.
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But that requires having a real, personal, internalized knowledge of what “right” is.
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A concern I have is the lack of real work, and real choices for our kids growing up, so that so many of them do not have a chance to become brave, and thus have courage, or gain self-discipline and the sense of worth that comes from knowing your efforts have been meaningful.
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Our family was structured to provide real work and real consequences – but that was not so easy to do living in a city.
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We joined, for example, the “Friends of the National Parks at Gettysburg”[Friends http://www.friendsof…} and our kids got to build split rail fences, and work with their hands to help save our heritage. Oh, other activities were woven into our lives, too.
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But courage doesn’t just happen. It is learned.
alice-in-floridasays
would provide better opportunity to learn courage–there are people there from different countries, different socioeconomic classes, etc., there is far more likelihood of conflict and opportunity to learn how to avoid or deal with it. There is plenty of “real work” to be done in cities, too. Volunteering at Gettysburg sounds like a lot of fun and a far better use of vacation than going to a theme park, but it’s perfectly safe, I don’t see how that teaches “courage.” Come to think of it, though, most theme parks (and video games) seem to involve an element of terror as a means of producing excitement (roller coasters, thrill rides of all sorts)…are you saying that hard, physical work obviates the need for such “stimulation”?
amberpawsays
Gettysburg is one of those rare places that seems to bring out the best in most people. No place is absolutely safe. Vandals have destroyed monuments at Gettysburg, and the last work crew my son was on a crewmember had a heart attack and he was part of the CPR team.
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Certainly, every town and city has volunteer opportunities to be useful and helpful. OUr family has done some of these, both together and individually.
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But the work involved in building, preserving, and restoring and the impact that has on development is very different then conflict resolution skills.
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I also find that the more confidence someone has, the less likely they are to mismanage conflict by becoming anxious, and when anxious looking angry or dangerous and then having a negative feedback spiral occur.
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The Gettysburg choice was also about “the new birth of freedom”, what it could mean to be American, and connecting with the past in a way that bridges to the future.
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I don’t know if Minuteman Park or the Freedom Trial have friends groups with similar opportunities; if anyone who reads this is aware of such, please do share.
lasthorsemansays
is just not enough. Terror must be thought of in it’s current perspective. A mechanism used by government to exert further control over people and secure power gains for themselves. Not one iota of this is a public service.
Zebignew Brezinzski says we are nuking Iran plain and simple.
I’d be stocking up stuff right now.
alice-in-floridasays
How much of this has to do with the citizens of Boston being afraid, and how much with the police and bomb squad being whipped into a frenzy? Do most people seem to be blaming those who placed the light-board signs, or are they PO’d at the police and the city? Sometimes police and other government agencies go way beyond the public in terms of fear factor, and start to consider it their job to be perpetually paranoid in the name of public safety.
republican-rock-radio-machinesays
I believe that there are people overseas that would love to come here and kill us.
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I think we should be ready
amicussays
The most immediate threat probably consists of cells, or sympathizers, already in the US or Canada who easily can get over the border. See something, say something!
While Schneier’s article is fine, as far as it goes, it misses the point generally. Courage is a learned skill. If courage hasn’t been learned, then it is fairly easy to terrorize.
<
p>
What is courage? Well, it is doing the “right thing” despite that taking work or having risk.
<
p>
But that requires having a real, personal, internalized knowledge of what “right” is.
<
p>
A concern I have is the lack of real work, and real choices for our kids growing up, so that so many of them do not have a chance to become brave, and thus have courage, or gain self-discipline and the sense of worth that comes from knowing your efforts have been meaningful.
<
p>
Our family was structured to provide real work and real consequences – but that was not so easy to do living in a city.
<
p>
We joined, for example, the “Friends of the National Parks at Gettysburg”[Friends http://www.friendsof…} and our kids got to build split rail fences, and work with their hands to help save our heritage. Oh, other activities were woven into our lives, too.
<
p>
But courage doesn’t just happen. It is learned.
would provide better opportunity to learn courage–there are people there from different countries, different socioeconomic classes, etc., there is far more likelihood of conflict and opportunity to learn how to avoid or deal with it. There is plenty of “real work” to be done in cities, too. Volunteering at Gettysburg sounds like a lot of fun and a far better use of vacation than going to a theme park, but it’s perfectly safe, I don’t see how that teaches “courage.” Come to think of it, though, most theme parks (and video games) seem to involve an element of terror as a means of producing excitement (roller coasters, thrill rides of all sorts)…are you saying that hard, physical work obviates the need for such “stimulation”?
Gettysburg is one of those rare places that seems to bring out the best in most people. No place is absolutely safe. Vandals have destroyed monuments at Gettysburg, and the last work crew my son was on a crewmember had a heart attack and he was part of the CPR team.
<
p>
Certainly, every town and city has volunteer opportunities to be useful and helpful. OUr family has done some of these, both together and individually.
<
p>
But the work involved in building, preserving, and restoring and the impact that has on development is very different then conflict resolution skills.
<
p>
I also find that the more confidence someone has, the less likely they are to mismanage conflict by becoming anxious, and when anxious looking angry or dangerous and then having a negative feedback spiral occur.
<
p>
The Gettysburg choice was also about “the new birth of freedom”, what it could mean to be American, and connecting with the past in a way that bridges to the future.
<
p>
I don’t know if Minuteman Park or the Freedom Trial have friends groups with similar opportunities; if anyone who reads this is aware of such, please do share.
is just not enough. Terror must be thought of in it’s current perspective. A mechanism used by government to exert further control over people and secure power gains for themselves. Not one iota of this is a public service.
Zebignew Brezinzski says we are nuking Iran plain and simple.
I’d be stocking up stuff right now.
How much of this has to do with the citizens of Boston being afraid, and how much with the police and bomb squad being whipped into a frenzy? Do most people seem to be blaming those who placed the light-board signs, or are they PO’d at the police and the city? Sometimes police and other government agencies go way beyond the public in terms of fear factor, and start to consider it their job to be perpetually paranoid in the name of public safety.
I believe that there are people overseas that would love to come here and kill us.
<
p>
I think we should be ready
The most immediate threat probably consists of cells, or sympathizers, already in the US or Canada who easily can get over the border. See something, say something!