I am captivated by heroism.
My inspiration often comes from stories of knights, adventurers, and those self-sacrificing men and women who somehow find a strength to press on through the greatest of adversity.
I recently was made aware of the Bielski brothers' story through a film called Defiance. They were three Poland born Jews who started a hidden society in a Nazi controlled world. They did this, by surviving in the forest.
The oldest brother, Tuvia, was the leader. Zus and Asael were the younger ones. Many of the Jews living with them wished revenge upon the Germans. Tuvia's stance was that survival would be their revenge. When the Nazi's would get closer to their camp, they would not fight, they would run.
He chose flight.
Zus believed they should fight. He opposed Tuvia's leadership and ended up joining a Russian Unit that was encamped closeby in the same woods as the Bielski's. There he faced racism and communistic ideals he was technically now fighting for.
Zus chose to stand up.
He chose to fight.
Who was right?
Who was wrong?
What was more important, survival through opposition or through strength?
It's not that Tuvia was unwilling to fight, it was more that he wasn't prepared to. He did not want to risk the lives of all the women and children that they had worked so hard to protect. While running from German's, the burden of leadership finally broke Tuvia. They were at the edge of the woods and now faced an endless swamp. It took his brother's courage, Asael, to inspire the people to press through the swamp.
Asael was once a scared boy who needed his brother's courage to make it through the day. Ultimately, it was Asael's strength, which came from Tuvia, that gave him the courage to once again lead. He fell to his weakness, only to be taught a lesson of courage through the one he had taught it to.
They kept running until they were blocked by a Nazi unit with a tank. They had nowhere else to go. They were faced with one final option.
Tuvia finally chose to fight.
Running away from your enemy can be useful, but so can fighting them.
Which one is right?
Which one is just?
Life is hard. Not everyone is going to like you. There are those that will stand in your way, which is normal, yet a question still remains. How will you react to the obstacles you are faced with?
I'm not a pacifist, but I didn't decide that lightly. I admire pacifists. I think it takes a lot of courage to choose a higher road that involves non-violence, but I can't be that person.
I think that the question 'Fight or Flight?' is a valid one.
I think that the answer is always the same in every situation.
Yes.
Confusing? Yeah I know, allow me to elaborate.
Each situation that you are faced with should not be taken lightly. Everything you do should be thought through concisely as it possibly can be (if the circumstances allow you to). Choosing a form of violence should never be the easy solution for you. I cannot imagine what it would feel like to kill someone, even if it was a serial killer/child molester who just raped a family member and then stabbed them in the heart (I'm sure I've painted a good enough picture). Violence should not come easy for you.
Then again, running away from a situation should not be an easy decision to make. It can change how you view yourself and make you feel like a coward. Flight breaks apart your dignity yet can strengthen your integrity.
Both have their negatives but both have their positives.
If I were to say that I was a pacifist it would suggest that every situation is the same and I should react the same way but, that makes little sense to me. In my limited experience, not all situations are the same. As an example I present two similar scenarios, yet at the heart, they are totally different.
In both scenarios you are in elementary school and are faced with some form of a bully (cliche' I know, but be patient). In the first scenario, the bully is picking on you. He threatens to beat you up, calls you names, makes fun of your mother, etc. What do you do? Do you antagonize him. Call him names back, maybe stand up to him, push him around a little? No one would think anything of it and probably respect you more, but ultimately he's only dealing with words and attacking you personally, which is bound to happen. Scenario one calls for the so called, 'high road'. I believe you should walk away.
In scenario two you have the same bully, but he's doing what he was doing to you to someone else who is too scared to defend himself. What then is the right solution? Do you walk away or do you step in and intervene? Most would understand, I mean, it's not your battle, that kid should stand up for himself. He's gotta learn to protect himself sometime. I wonder, what if you were the one who needed to teach it to him? What could be more noble, than to stand up for those who are too weak to defend themselves?
All in all, to walk away in a circumstance such as this, it would be cowardly and close minded. A real hero will know when to act and when to stay quiet. When to fly and when to help. Helping others over your own needs is unexplainable. Your own laughter will seems so minuscule compared to making someone smile.
Some situations call for action, while others call for nothing.
A show I watch sums up my belief on the subject. A father offers advice to his son in regards to fighting, he tells him:
"Walk away if it's for yourself, stand up and fight if it's for someone else."
Think about it.
