On Courage: Jackie Speier

Princeton, MA

This blog will feature a regular item On Courage in its many forms, from physical, moral and social courage to situations in which individuals choose to continue living meaningful lives against all odds.

The late journalist Dorothy Thompson's definition of courage is useful. She was the first woman reporter expelled from Nazi Germany. Thompson once said that, "Courage, it would seem, is nothing less than the power to overcome danger, misfortune, fear, injustice, while continuing to affirm inwardly that life with all its sorrows is good; that everything is meaningful even if in a sense beyond our understanding; and that there is always tomorrow." Yes, absolutely!

The truth is that there are many stories of truly courageous people out there that lend needed perspective to endless reports of the evil, banality and cowardice among us. Congresswoman Jackie Speier (D-CA) is a case in point.

Some people say that Speier is a royal pain in the butt in fighting for causes she believes are just. It's likely that some do not appreciate her style. It's also likely that her brand of liberalism may be too liberal for pragmatists and even centrists. Yet there is simply no denying the considerable courage found in her life story. Speier was shot five times by Jim Jones' henchmen on a tarmac near Jonestown, Guyana, an event that resulted in the assassination of her boss, Congressman Leo Ryan, on that fateful day in November, 1978. Speier was left for dead in the Guyanese jungle, somehow survived and underwent 10 operations over 25 years to repair her brutally damaged body.

It's hard to believe after the events of Jonestown that Speier also endured several miscarriages, a lengthy but failed adoption process, an auto accident while jogging, and the chilling death of her first husband in another auto accident at the hands of an unlicensed driver with faulty brakes. How would any one of us choose to handle these ordeals? Well, Congresswoman Speier appears to have handled them as well as could possibly be expected. She is someone well worth respecting and well worth watching, no matter how uncompromising she is said to be. Hey, she's earned it, right?