What is true bravery?

True Bravery

Everyone has fear, and brave people can overcome fear on their own.

I saw an inspiring story: The boss was recruiting employees, and three people applied.

The boss said to the first applicant, there is a glass window in the corridor, you break it with your fist. The candidate performed. Fortunately, it wasn't a real piece of glass, otherwise his hand would be seriously injured.

The boss said to the second applicant, there is a bucket of dirty water here, you pour it on the cleaner. She was resting in the small room at the corner of the corridor. Don't say anything, just open the door and splash it on her. The applicant carried the dirty water out, found the small room, opened the door, and saw a female cleaner sitting there. He didn't say anything, poured dirty water on her head, turned around and left to report to the boss. The boss then told him that what was sitting there was just a wax figure.

The boss finally said to the third applicant, there is a fat man in the hall, you go and punch him twice. The applicant said, I'm sorry, I have no reason to hit him; even if there is a reason, I can't hit him. I may not be hired by you because of this, but I won't carry out your orders either. At this time, the boss announced that the third applicant was hired on the grounds that he was a brave person and a rational person. He has the courage not to carry out the ridiculous orders of his boss, and of course he has the courage not to carry out the ridiculous orders of others.

General de Gaulle also encountered such brave people. It was 1965, when a civil uprising broke out in France. Students and citizens in Paris took to the streets to demand the resignation of then-President Charles de Gaulle. De Gaulle was exhausted and came to Baden, Germany. The French military headquarters in Germany is located here.

De Gaulle asked the commander of the French Army in Germany to lead troops back to Paris to quell the civil unrest. However, both of de Gaulle's requests were rejected by the commander of the French forces stationed in Germany, and he also persuaded de Gaulle to give up the order. Later, de Gaulle thanked the commander very much and praised the commander for bravely refusing to carry out his orders. He also wrote to the commander's wife, saying that it was God who brought him to Baden when he was helpless, and it was God who allowed him to meet the commander. Otherwise, he may be a criminal in history.

There is only one definition of bravery, but there may be many manifestations of bravery. Of the three applicants, the first two resolutely followed the boss's orders, which seemed understandable since they were the boss's orders after all; but the latter one deserved praise for his courage to refuse to carry out the boss's ridiculous orders. As for the commander of the French troops stationed in Germany, it is commendable that he dared to refuse to carry out the orders of Charles de Gaulle, then French President, that went against public opinion and the principles and spirit of democracy. This is simply unthinkable in a country with an authoritarian system.

So being brave or not is not just a manifestation of behavior, it also contains rationality and morality. Bravery that is irrational and devoid of rationality; courage that is irrational and devoid of morality is, at best, nothing more than mindless courage.