Avoid Fear; Be Valiant by @JoanReeves #mgtab

FDR, 1933, Photo from National Archives and Records Administration, Public domain

In 1933, during his first inaugural address, Franklin Delano Roosevelt said, “The only thing we have to fear is fear itself—nameless, unreasoning, unjustified terror which paralyzes needed efforts to convert retreat into advance.”

FDR was talking about the fear that was pervasive in America at that time. The stock market crash of 1929 not only bankrupted 20,000 companies but also threw 15 million people into unemployment. More than 23,000 people committed suicide!

When FDR was inaugurated as President, the country was in crisis. Many people were literally starving to death. Back then the homeless were called hobos, and they road the rails and hitchhiked across the country—looking for jobs and food. My mother was a toddler in the 1930’s, but she remembered hearing men knocking on the back door of her home, begging for a piece of bread or any bit of food her mother could spare.

So FDR faced a dead economy, massive unemployment, and unsettling rumblings from Europe. People were desperately afraid of not having food to eat or a roof over their heads.

Fear Sculpture by Adina Mayo

When Roosevelt uttered those words about fear, he was issuing a call to arms to the American people to believe that the crises they faced could be overcome—to be valiant and not succumb to an overall feeling of fear and panic.

We face pretty much the same situation today, but millions of people have never had to deal with a crisis like this. They don’t understand that perilous times call for all of us to dig deep for faith and optimism. Even the most frightened of us have the ability to “gut it out” and be valiant.

Valiant

The dictionary defines this adjective as the ability to be brave or determined. Yes, determined. We don’t have to throw ourselves on a grenade to save others or any of the acts of bravery committed by soldiers and first responders. We just have to be determined.

Valiant = Determined

Determined to: believe we as a country (whatever your country may be), and as a people will endure.

Determined that we will not yield to nameless, unreasoning, unjustified terror but will be calm and think logically and follow sensible rules.

Determined to set a good example for our children so they will learn how to behave in crisis.

Determined that we will remain optimistic. Determined that we will help where and when we can.

Determined that we will not yield to panic and rush to testing stations when we have no reason to think we have CoVid19, thereby conserving resources.

Determined to make the best of a bad situation. Determined that we will learn lessons from this awful experience.

Be safe. Be optimistic. BE VALIANT!

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