Developing Courage

One Sunday afternoon in 2011, my friends Ruth Wangire and Susan Sawe, with whom I served in a choir at All Saints' Cathedral in Nairobi, took me to an upscale restaurant for a talk. I hadn't been attending choir consistently for more than year and they were eager to hear what I had been up to. As we began our conversation that afternoon, I mentioned to them that I am a votary of President John F. Kennedy.

"Why do you admire him?" Ruth asked me.

I swiftly replied, "Because he was a handsome, young, wise and charismatic president."

Well, I can't recall when I first heard of President Kennedy. All I remember is that I quoted him during my high school years in an argument I was having with my volleyball teammates sometime in 2003 as we debated on who would travel to Kisumu for the national championships which we had just qualified for. Using President Kennedy's words, I challenged the teammates: "Ask not what the team can do for you; ask what you can do for the team."

Later on in 2007 when I became interested in public speaking, I enjoyed listening to President Kennedy's 1961 inaugural address which was voted as the second most influential speech of the 20th century. I would listen to it over and over again whenever I was alone and in high spirits.

So often did I listen to that inaugural address that I can still spout lines from it, such as President Kennedy asking Americans to join him in fighting "the four common enemies of man: poverty, disease, tyranny and war itself."

At JKUAT where I enrolled in May 2007 to pursue an engineering degree, I came across Theodore White's The Making of the President in the university library. The book had a photo of President Kennedy on the front cover. I came to like that photo so much that I would view it when I visited the library.

Over the years since I dropped out of JKUAT, I have read more about President Kennedy. From my readings, I learnt that there was one virtue he valued most: that is courage. He even wrote a book titled Profiles in Courage which became a best-seller and won him a Pulitzer Prize.

In Profiles in Courage, President Kennedy narrated the experiences of men who demonstrated great courage in times of national crisis. I read the book when I was at the University of Nairobi in 2011, so I know what I am talking about.

Upon reflecting on the stories in Profiles in Courage, I am left wondering how it is that I have lacked courage in my day-to-day living. I have nonetheless resolved to work on my muscle of courage, especially in:

• Defending personal decisions
• Speaking up against bullying and intimidation
• Saying "no" firmly, politely and unambiguously
• Speaking against unacceptable talk and behaviour
• Standing up against enemies as well as friends when they err

President Kennedy was wise to value the virtue of courage, for as Maya Angelou observed, "Without courage we cannot practice any other virtue with consistency. We can't be kind, true, merciful, generous, or honest." Let us therefore yearn for opportunities to be courageous since only through practice can we strengthen our muscles of courage.

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RECOMMENDATION: If you've enjoyed the above story on developing courage, you might also enjoy another one on "Cultivating Love" which I wrote sometime back. Just click on that link in blue to dive straight into the story.