If ever there was a time for courage in the U.S. Congress, the time is now. Leaders without courage are imposters. First and foremost, they seek to protect their power and position. They are sycophants and cowards preening and pounding their chests, but the first to run in the face of crisis.
It was appalling to hear some senators and representatives say they weren’t afraid when a mob unhinged by lies fed to them for years was nearly at their door. Are we supposed to think them brave? No. They were the first ones out of harm’s way. Many of their colleagues were stuck, awaiting what might have been their last moments on earth. Courage is not a lack of fear, crowing about being calm when removed from the line of fire. It’s overcoming fear in the face of danger.
None of us is born courageous. As I wrote the other day and in the Harvard Business Review, courage is sometimes spontaneous. More often it’s a skill developed and applied by exceptional people to protect what they, and those they represent, hold dear. It is a vehicle of virtue that can’t be driven by the faint of heart.
Courage is also not always the province of those in positions of ascribed leadership. As we saw, Capitol Police fought against the odds, led the violent mob away from where lawmakers were still vulnerable to attack, and risked their lives in other ways. These men and women fought while those in high places, so-called leaders, worried about the optics of sending in the National Guard and failed to protect their country.
We are still reeling from watching “the people’s house” attacked and so easily. No one can be sure of precisely the right steps to take. There are no crystal balls. There are downsides to the impeachment of President Trump as the coronavirus rages and President-elect Joseph Biden is about to start his presidency “hitting the ground running.” But doing nothing is not an option. Giving a pass to a president who instigated insurrection merely because his term is nearly over tells future presidents of his ilk that they need only wait until late in their final term to destroy democracy.
Vice President Pence can invoke the 25th amendment. That would take courage, especially since many in the mob were shouting “Hang Pence!” He’s had four years of doing the bidding of a president who is both mentally incompetent and dangerous. This is not a time to value loyalty to one man over loyalty to one’s country and democracy around the world.
At the heart of courage is always a question: What matters most? The answer involves higher-order values. Those with power who fail to find within themselves what it takes to protect those values should step aside. These people are not the solution. Many are complicit, cowardly and a disgrace.
