Cowardice vs Bravery: To be brave is to be a coward and to be a coward is to be brave.

Cowardice (noun)

"a lack of courage"

Bravery (noun)

"a spirit that enables you to face danger or pain without showing fear"

To be brave is to be a coward, and to be a coward is to be brave. How can that be?

The quote, "To be brave is to be a coward, and to be a coward is to be brave" is a statement which on the surface appears to be contradictory, but it actually turns out to reveal a hidden truth behind the whole matter. It is a paradox! How can you be a coward if you're brave? How can being a coward be a brave thing to do?

A coward is someone who by definition, is a person that lacks the courage to stand against adversity or pain. It is commonly accepted that the brave souls of our society are the ones that pave the way for the future. I believe that it is the other way around. I believe that even though I am an out-going young lad, I am still a coward in more ways than one. I believe that even the bravest members of society are cowards at heart, because they find a need to shield themselves from failure.

What is bravery? To be brave is to stand out in a class and raise your hand to answer a teacher's question. There was once a quote that went along the lines of, "So you have an enemy do you? Well congratulations, that means you stood up for something, sometime in your life". This quote is a paradox, because the quoter is congratulating you on making an enemy, which is not exactly a positive or pleasing thing to achieve, but it reveals the hidden truth that you are a brave person for creating that enemy. This is a logical fallacy however, because it is bad logic to think that bravery is created or supported by having an enemy. Having an enemy just means that someone, somewhere is against you in some way or fashion.

However, this what ties my whole argument on bravery together, because having an enemy means that everyday you wake up from your bed and head to your school or your workplace or whatever, and confront your fears to live out your life in the midst of that enemy of yours. Congratulations, you are being a brave person everyday for venturing into the world and taking it head on. Congratulations.

Everyday is a struggle, because you see violence and a total media frenzy on the news and in the newspaper and even on the streets all the time. Who knows when you'll be the victim of a random crime? Who knows when all of a sudden a total catastrophe will happen? Who knows anything with 100% certainty? No one, that's who.

What I know for certain is that the best thing you can do is to put your feet firmly on the ground, stick your chin up, work your back into a healthy posture, and take calm, confident strides in your life, because being out in the world is a healthy and brave thing to do. No matter who, where or what you are in the world, someone somewhere will hate you for something totally out of your control. It's stupid, it's idiotic, it's society.

To be brave is to be accepting of that fact that you're not perfect. In fact nobody is perfect, and that there are many good things to be thankful for in your life. My advice? Take out a notebook, jot down all the things you're thankful for. Chances are, you have done this kind of exercise in your public school career at least once.

How does this tie in with my whole point? Well, sometimes the best thing you can do is to be a coward and take the easy way out. Usually, this is not the case however, and the best route to take would be to take the road less taken: take the brave way out. There is no surefire way out of a conflict, nor is there a way to make everything right in the world. You just need to find a common ground.

You don't have to be the most out-going or happiest person in the world.

You don't have to be the greatest guy or gal either.

You don't have to be the bravest person.

You don't have to be a total coward either.

You don't need to choose between Cowardice or Bravery.

You don't really need to label yourself as a coward or a brave person either.