Donald Trump stated at town hall meeting in Derry, New Hampshire that it “takes courage to run for president.”
Trump’s comment is in line with what Teddy Roosevelt famously said in a speech at the Sorbonne in Paris more than a century ago:
It is not the critic who counts… The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds…
True enough coming from Roosevelt, who was a man of personal and professional courage. As for today’s candidates, none I have seen come close to the courage displayed by a 24-year-old man who works in a restaurant in a Trump-owned property.
Ricardo Aca, born in Mexico, emigrated with his parents when he was 14 and has graduated high school, received an associate’s degree, and now holds three jobs – one as a busboy in a restaurant located within a Trump-owned property. So upset by the mockery that Donald Trump has made of immigrants he took it upon himself to make a video protesting Trump’s callous remarks.
As Aca says in the video, “I know I could lose my job for just talking about Trump, but it doesn’t make me proud every day to go to work under his name.” [The restaurant is not directly owned by the Trump Organization.]
As undocumented worker brought to the States as a minor, Aca has qualified to hold a work permit. “I’m in the deferred action program, which I have to renew every two years,” Aca told the New York Times. “I consider myself an undocumented immigrant still because it could just be taken away from me at any time.”
While speaking out against Trump could cost him his job, Aca told the Times, he feels an obligation. “I was offended because this is not who we are, this is not who I am, this is not anybody I know who is an immigrant.” Trump for his part told the Times, “I want to check his file.” The Times reported that Trump will not ask the restaurant to discipline Aca.
Aca put himself and his job on the line by speaking up for what he thinks is right. Presidential candidates do the same, but somehow none of this year’s crop of contenders seems to come close to the bravery exuded by immigrants like Aca. Candidates may face tough questions from hecklers or from the media, but is that the same as the toughness that comes from unemployment? I hardly think so.
The men and women I know who exemplify courage don’t talk about the courage they possess. They simply live it. In Why Courage Matters, John McCain with Mark Salter wrote:
We are taught to understand, correctly, that courage is not the absence of fear, but the capacity for action despite our fears… Better to look to the lives of good men and women who in a crucible risked or sacrificed their own security for someone else.
Men and women in our armed forces – along with the many more who serve as first responders – know what it means to risk their security for the sake of others. They do it everyday. It is their job.
Yes, running for president does take courage, but not the kind of courage where you put your livelihood or life on the line. And for that reason I prefer to learn about courage from people with something at more at risk rather than a reputation… or a future TV slot.
