There are many definitions of courage. I’m sure you each have your own. To me courage means doing what is right even when it is not comfortable. I can’t imagine anyone would argue that it takes courage to confront a bad guy brandishing a weapon, like our law enforcement officers do daily. Charging into a burning building like our firefighters is also a clear example of courage. Who could argue about the incredible valor exhibited by our armed forces as they risk their lives on battlefields? Most of us will never have to experience the courage referenced above. Still, the opportunity to display courage exists in many ways for Americans, every day. We must take the opportunity to do what is right whenever we have the chance.
A small number of CEOs from all over the country, and from many industries, are showing their cowardice. They are choosing to bow to trouble makers while insulting their customers. Most Americans, even those lacking business majors, understand it can be career threatening for corporate leaders to infuriate a large percent of their customers. CEOs are betting that conservative Americans will do what they have always done when they have been insulted. Nothing! So the risk, as the CEOs see it, is far greater if they insult a small group of well funded, well organized, obnoxious, activists. They appear to believe that by supporting domestic terrorists at BLM and Antifa they will avoid harassment themselves. History clearly shows that eventually the anarchists will attack every for profit company. These rioters tell you up front that they are against capitalism, the police, and the nuclear family. Even the untrained are asking what seem to be obvious questions. How will corporations prosper without capitalism? Who will protect their property, both real and intellectual? And how does it benefit corporations if the nuclear family is destroyed? One is left to wonder what these highly trained, ridiculously compensated, corporate leaders are thinking. If BLM and Antifa achieve their goals, corporations as we know them, will cease to exist. CEOs who exhibit this depth of cowardice deserve what they assuredly will ultimately receive. Unfortunately, when these cowards get what they deserve it will basically mean the end of our country as the bastion of freedom. While corporate cowardice is relatively new, it is growing in intensity.
Perhaps the most egregious display of cowardice has been exhibited by the commissioners, and owners, of our professional sports teams. They are the worst because they include a heaping helping of hypocrisy. Professional sports teams got thrust into the social justice limelight when Colin Kaepernick, an NFL quarterback, decided to take a knee during the National Anthem. On many Facebook posts I admonished Kaepernick for his lack of respect for the USA and our veterans. I also took the NFL to task for allowing such a disgraceful public display. Any number of NFL apologists chastened me for attacking Kaepernick and the NFL. They would ask: What don’t you understand about the freedom of speech? This is America. He has the right to take a knee. Maybe. Perhaps. NO! Before Kaepernick chose to kneel during the National Anthem the NFL, and the player’s union (NFLPA), had signed a contract that stipulated how members of teams must conduct themselves during the playing of the National Anthem. (It is a sad state of affairs to think that people who have become millionaires, should have to be told how to show respect). Kaepernick’s actions were outside of those guidelines. So the contract he agreed to play under denied him the right to denigrate his country, along with those who fought and died to give him the opportunity to become wealthy playing a game. Whether his contract allowed this display of ignorance, or not, freedom of speech gives me the right to denounce his behavior. Obviously, with the above mentioned contract, Commissioner Roger Goodell had everything he needed to remedy the problem. He had all of the ingredients to do the right thing, except courage. He chose to insult his customers instead of enforcing the contract. The owners collectively stuck their heads in the sand waiting for the trouble to pass. To the surprise of nobody, since that decision, the NFL has suffered dreadful TV ratings and a serious dip in attendance. Imagine that.
Not to be outdone, Major League Baseball (MLB) Commissioner, Rob Manfred, decided to move the 2021 MLB All Star game from Atlanta to Denver because of voter legislation passed in Georgia. He sat in his New York office uninformed, and hypocritical, and said he would not support laws that oppressed minority voters. Apparently he thought the state of Georgia, requiring voters to produce an ID before they could vote, was repressing minority voters. After all, none other than our dementia addled President had called the new laws “Jim Crowe 2.0”. (By the way, three out of four Americans think voters should be required to produce ID before voting. So do most minority voters). To prove his devotion to black citizens he moved the game from Atlanta with an over 50% black population, to Denver with about a 10% black population. Delaware, the state that our President has represented for over four decades, doesn’t allow early voting like they do in Georgia. They must be racists. And in New York, where MLB has its headquarters, they have fewer early voting days than in Georgia. Georgia’s new law allows no excuse absentee voting, New York does not. Wait what? If Commissioner Manfred believed what he said, and had an ounce of courage, he would apologize to Atlanta and move MLB headquarters to some other state. Maybe Georgia? We have some idea what the financial effect his cowardly actions will have on Atlanta. It is too early to see what his decision to listen to the likes of Stacy Abrams will have on the MLB franchise. The silence from the billionaire owners doesn’t clear them, it makes them complicit. I hope in the final analysis the results mirror those witnessed by the NFL.
Finally, a look at the National Basketball Association (NBA). The NBA’s lack of courage is only exceeded by its enormous hypocrisy. Commissioner Adam Silver displays that talent possessed by too many lawyers. He is incredibly adept at speaking out of both sides of his mouth, at the same time. Here is a guy who encouraged NBA players to support the civil rights of black people with words like BLM, Equality, and Peace, on the back of their jerseys. He did so as he was signing a multi-billion dollar streaming agreement with the Chinese Communist Party! How can one be more hypocritical than to support the civil rights of black people while doing business with a government that allows no civil rights to anyone? Millions of their citizens are allegedly used in forced labor camps. Others are allegedly used as forced organ donors. There was a glimpse of NBA courage when the Rockets GM, Daryl Morey, tweeted support for democracy in Hong Kong. His spine proved to be gelatinous when after a couple of days he apologized for his logical tweet. Then LeBron James came to the microphone with his criticism of the “ignorant” comments made by Morey. God help us! You know, if you want to learn anything pertaining to playing basketball, ask LeBron. Why on earth would you take one precious minute out of your life to take advice about global events, or economics, from a high school graduate? Look, James makes something approaching 30 million dollars a year from Nike. Nike has huge production facilities all over Asia, including China. That’s about all of the global economics James needs to understand to defend the Chinese Communist Party. Chinese human rights be damned. It wouldn’t be fair to leave this paragraph without mentioning the guy I call the legend in his own mind, Mark Cuban. Cuban, who’s billion dollar net worth is dwarfed by his ego, was hounded by Sen. Ted Cruz to publicly support the Hong Kong people who were fighting the Chinese to keep their freedom and liberty. Cuban avoided every attempt by Cruz by deferring his comments to police brutality in the USA, and his support for BLM. Cuban and his NBA owner cronies are making mountains of money in China. They will go mute before they say anything that could threaten that relationship. The NBA’s approval ratings have been heading drastically south for some time. Deservedly so. Courage is doing what is right even when it is not comfortable.
In the sake of time I’ll further discuss the dearth of courage in corporations and politics in a future post. If you enjoyed this post please tell your friends about it.