Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. stated: “The time is always right to do what is right.” — Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
When my son, Luke, was in elementary school, the principal gave the morning announcements over the intercom, old-school style. No fancy tv student announcements with splashy graphics and music, just the nearly-retired principal who absolutely loved his job. At the end of the announcements every single day, Mr. Hutton would say:
“Have a good day, and do the right thing.” Do the right thing is a good reminder for elementary kids..and for all of us.
“Do the right thing” has become a popular mantra in our culture. I think the phrase carries with it the understanding that it isn’t always easy to do the right thing. Sometimes it’s just easier to do the wrong thing — or to do nothing at all.
Doing the right thing means many things….it means making wise choices, like following the law, like helping people carry things, like holding doors for others, and doing your homework and turning it in on time. Doing the right thing also has a lot to do with standing up for other people — having someone’s back in a tough time.
When someone is struggling — needing money, or needing a ride, or needing food, or needing company, sometimes the most comforting words in the world to hear are: I got you.
I got you. I will spot you some cash, I will come help you paint that room, I will be with you in court. I got you. I will watch your kid, I will let your dog out, I will write you a recommendation.
I got you means, I see your need, and I am willing to fulfill it. I’ve got your back. OH, friends, sometimes those words are absolute music to our ears.
But there is another part to having someone’s back, and that is the part where we stand up for them. We recognize there is danger brewing, and we step in to try to stop wrongdoing or we try to protect others, despite the risks.
When we stand up for someone we demonstrate moral courage. Moral courage is needed when we see that principles have been violated, social norms were transgressed, or the law was broken. If we act to stop these wrongdoings, despite the risk of backlash, we act morally courageous.
This can involve a range of behaviors. A student can be morally courageous by confronting bullies, speaking up against discrimination behavior or reporting cheating. An employee can act morally courageously by making corporate fraud public. By standing up in defense of their moral principles despite risks, morally courageous individuals can become a protective force for individuals, a catalyst for social change, and an inspiration for others, thereby making a crucial contribution to the greater good.
We find this very encouragement in this verse from the Old Testament book of Micah — a verse that is commonly called the JUSTICE passage:
“Do what is right to other people. Love being kind to others, and live humbly, trusting God.’”
—Micah 6:8
So, of course, we hope for a society where many people show moral courage. Instead, however moral courage is relatively rare. We can probably all recall reports of violent fights, sexual harassment, or racist attacks in which no one intervened, or perhaps we have found ourselves in such situations and remained inactive.
These experiences are backed up by research. Studies that access morally courageous behavior find that only about 20% of participants who witness wrongdoings intervene against them. At the same time, many more people intend to intervene. What, then, stops us from putting our intentions into action?
Here are two possible explanations for the rareness of moral courage:
The first point is that moral courage can break down at many points.
Moral courage involves a complicated internal process — and that complexity can cause us to not respond with a morally courageous action.
There are five steps we go through when confronted with a situation that is questionable:
Witnesses need to notice an incident
They need to interpret it as wrongdoing
Then witnesses need to assume responsibility
Then they need to believe they possess effective intervention skills
Ultimately, witnesses need to decide whether to intervene despite potential risks
There can be a breakdown at any of those steps, leading to a lack of morally courageous behavior. At any point in these five stages, we might question our own analysis of the situation, and decide it isn’t what we thought it was.
Secondly, it’s difficult to see the big picture. It’s often challenging for any of us to see how being a morally courageous person benefits the greater good. Being morally courageous is risky. People don’t exactly welcome this kind of reaction. Being morally courageous often requires calling perpetrators out on their wrongdoings, and confronting them in ways that can feel unpleasant. Reporting wrongdoings can feel like tattling.
Sometimes standing up for someone places us in the direct path of someone who is angry, and that is not an emotion we associate with the greater good. However, sometimes anger is our best motivator for change. The angrier we get with injustice, the more likely we are to do something about it.
Standing up for others changes our culture. It has a significantly positive impact on our culture, on our empathy and compassion, and in our role-modeling. Sometimes it just takes one person to stand up against the injustice and others will quickly follow.
We stand up for others who cannot stand up for themselves, because we want to make the world a better place. A fairer place. Having moral courage shows others that there are limits, we don’t have to tolerate injustice.
Within our society, we have strong, powerful people who don’t need an advocate and we have marginalized people who often need an advocate. People in marginalized populations feel less important and secondary. They have been historically disempowered and oppressed by influential and discriminatory groups. Who are they? They are the groups of people who experience social, economic, and political exclusion or discrimination based on characteristics such as race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, socioeconomic status, disability or religion.
It is the marginalized communities that most need our moral courage.
A mother shares this story about her daughter and her friend.
My daughter told me her best friend was subjected to a racist comment on the school bus one afternoon. “I asked her is she was okay,” said my daughter, but she didn’t say anything, so I just scooted closer to her in the bus seat. I didn’t know what to do, so I just hurt with her.”
The mother filed those powerful words away, “I just hurt with her.” — and she watched that friendship over the next several years. These girls look out for each other. (SLIDE: GIRLS) Whether one gets hurt on the playground, whether one is getting new glasses and needs an honest opinion, whether one needs encouragement at basketball tryouts, they respond compassionately to each other’s needs.
“I’ll hurt with you.” What a powerful phrase. Isn’t that something we can all do? What if we collectively look into the eyes of our brothers and sisters to acknowledge their story and their pain rather than closing our eyes and looking away?
What if we collectively agree it is not “your back,” or “my back,” but “our back” if we are to create a unified and peaceful world for future generations. Like these two young friends, we are all stronger together than we are alone.
I got you. I’ve got your back. I’ve got our back. Amen.
Civil Rights activist, Tarana Burke has declared:
“If we don’t center the voices of marginalized people, we’re doing the wrong work.” Tarana Burke
Let’s do what we can to be morally courageous. To speak up and advocate wherever we are able.
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