Moral Courage

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During the Civil Rights Movement, many people fought for what they believed in despite a significant part of the population believing that what they were doing was immoral and wrong. One of these people was George Wallace, the former governor of Alabama, and three time presidential contender. (George Wallace Biography) George Wallace demonstrated moral courage by supporting his belief that segregation should continue with bold and defiant actions actions. Like Atticus Finch, in the book “To Kill a Mocking Bird,” by Harper Lee, Wallace fearlessly fought for what he believed in even when success was out of his reach. Both men demonstrated moral courage even though their positions on the issue of social justice were polar opposites. Moral courage can be found anywhere and be demonstrated by anyone regardless of their views.

Moral courage is the act of upholding your beliefs and views, even if people think they are wrong. According to dictionary.com, these morals are, “of, pertaining to, or concerned with the principles or rules of right conduct or the distinction between right and wrong; ethical.” Individuals’ morals, however, depend on their view of the world and their outlook on events. Anyone can demonstrate moral courage as long as they truly support their views with consistent actions, and they steadfast to them. It does not matter if these ideas seem completely backward and wrong to others; it can still be moral courage if they truly believe in the righteousness of their cause. The understanding of what is right and what is wrong is often formed and molded by the culture one grows up in, and this can account for the varied ethical stances.

George Wallace was born in rural Alabama in 1919 to an impoverished family. (George...

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...’s freedom, and by extension demonstrated moral courage. George Wallace fought against integration and equality and everything Atticus stood for , yet because like Atticus he fought for his beliefs and truly stood by them even when most of the country was against him and his ideas, he demonstrated moral courage. Both Atticus and George Wallace showed moral courage, demonstrating, yet again that moral courage can be expressed by anyone. On a closing note, this project truly showed me that every individual is entitled to an opinion no matter how, evil, or ludicrous it may seem to the general population, and it must be respected.

Works Cited www.randomhistory.com/black-history-in-america.html http://www.archives.state.al.us/govs_list/schooldoor.html

www.biographybase.com/biography/Wallace_George.html

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=1294680

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