Signaling Virtue

“Courage is the first of human virtues because it makes all others possible.”

— Aristotle

Courage is under attack by the status quo. The status quo is encouraging the collective to virtue signal fear. A collective virtue signaling fear can grow only wide, not tall. How can we go back to building tall?

The Purpose of Fear

Fear does the perceiver no good past its ability to alert you to danger. Fear is the evolutionary instinct that dumps the body with adrenaline in the face of danger and helps us transition into fight or flight mode. Fear is a trigger.¹ A trigger should elicit a state change, not remain a constant state. You don’t hold the trigger down on a gun after it fires.

Fear: an unpleasant emotion caused by the belief that someone or something is dangerous, likely to cause pain, or a threat.

Remaining in a fear state is unsustainable. It is an unwanted state that should prompt you in one of two directions.

Anxiety

If you’re entering the downward spiral, then the second stage akin to being fearful is anxious.

Anxiety: a feeling of worry, nervousness, or unease, typically about an imminent event or something with an uncertain outcome.