this after skool presentation was written and narrated by academy
of ideas check out their youtube channel for more of their videos
our age has been called many things but an age of cowards may best describe it given the immense
fear anxiety and helplessness that most people display in the face of even trivial threats
we are not a generation that moves forward into the uncertain future in a bold and heroic manner
instead most people fear the future and prefer safety comfort and ease of life to risk taking
experimentation and freedom or as the 21st century sociologist frank furedi writes
young people are socialized to feel fragile and over awed by uncertainty and as a result
the defining feature of the current western 21st century version of personhood is its vulnerability
although society still upholds the ideal of self-determination and autonomy the values
associated with them are increasingly overridden by a message that stresses the quality of human
weakness and if vulnerability is indeed the defining feature of the human condition it follows
that being fearful is the normal state overawed by uncertainty fearing the future conceptualizing
oneself as vulnerable weak and fragile is not a recipe for individual or social flourishing
rather this way of life promotes mental illness and paves the way for authoritarian rule
and so as we will explore in this video the world would benefit if more people were willing to live
just a little more dangerously for danger when a byproduct of pursuing worthwhile goals or in
defense of values like freedom justice or peace is life promoting and as the roman
historian tacitus put it the desire for safety stands against every great and noble enterprise
not all societies however have ranked safety as high on the scale of values as does the
modern west many flourishing societies of the past considered safety to be a secondary value
and showed a remarkable capacity to take risks in the face of an uncertain future and to display
courage and bravery in the presence of danger historically some of the most prosperous societies
ancient athens renaissance italy 19th century britain were among those that were most oriented
towards experimentation and the taking of risks in taking the opposite approach and in showing a
strong preference for safety over risk-taking the unfolding of the human potential is not actualized
but stunted for to develop on an individual level and to advance as a species exploration of the
unknown and experimentation with novel ways of interacting with the world is a necessity
in this entails taking risks and confronting danger but such is a price that must be paid as
the alternative is to stagnate in the confines of an ever-shrinking comfort zone to regress
in body and mind and to fall victim to anxiety disorders depression or other diseases of despair
a further flaw with an approach to the future that strongly favors the safe road is that it creates
fertile ground for tyrannical or even totalitarian rule for as alexander hamilton famously stated
to be more safe they at length become willing to run the risk of being less free
when a society elevates safety to the position of a first order value
freedom is by necessity demoted to the position of a second-order value which can be trampled
on by those in power who throughout history have disguised tyrannical intentions with
claims of wanting to make a society safer what makes matters worse is if a society socializes
people to be fearful of the future and over awed by uncertainty the masses will welcome or openly
call for authority figures to protect them or as furedi notes relieving people of the burden
of freedom in order to make them feel safe is a recurring theme in the history of authoritarianism
given that a society which deifies safety is also a society ripe for tyranny
it is up to those who favor freedom to take a more heroic approach to life for when the menacing
clouds of authoritarian rule darken the horizon unless more people are willing to take risks and
face danger in the service of values such as freedom justice peace and social cooperation
the grip of tyrants will only solidify or as jon stewart mill put it a man who has nothing which
he is willing to fight for nothing which he cares more about than he does about his personal safety
is a miserable creature who has no chance of being free unless made and kept so by
the exertions of better men than himself as role models for the task of living more heroically we
can look to the ancient greeks a civilization that rightly held safety to be a secondary
not primary value and which saw risk-taking and facing danger as morally commendable
danger road albert camus makes men classical and all greatness after all is rooted in risk
friedrich nietzsche was also a proponent of this classical approach to life and he
praised pericles the athenian leader who in his famous funeral speech celebrated the athenians
indifference and contempt for safety body and life contrast this to the modern world where
to paraphrase the author christopher cocker we tend to deprive the bold risk takers who
spur safety of the fullness of their lives in order to support the smallness of our own
fortunately we don't need to wait around for politicians to pass legislation to approve of
a bolder approach to life we just need to live in this manner we need to look at the uncertain
future not merely as a source of threats but also of hope and opportunity and we need to see risk
taking as justified when in defense of cherished values or in the pursuit of worthwhile goals
by demoting safety to its rightful place as a secondary value we will cease living as a
helpless pawn who must be cuddled from youth to old age by an authority figure and we will
regain the ability to shape the course of our life we will mature psychologically and become
better equipped to cope with whatever the future brings for as nietzsche explains danger alone
acquaints us with our own resources our virtues our armor and weapons our spirit and forces us to
be strong first principle one must need to be strong otherwise one will never become strong
while taking greater risks and flirting with danger can shorten one's life
it is helpful to remember that a long life is not necessarily a good life
a safe life lacking real challenges and absent in adventure is inert and leads to a withering
away of body and mind into staleness repetition boredom and stagnation such is not living it is
mere existing or as the roman stoic seneca put it there is no reason for you to think that any
man has lived long because he has gray hairs or wrinkles he has not lived long he has existed long
in addition to helping one live more fully a courageous willingness to take
risks and to flirt with danger can turn us into a great benefactor of mankind for so long as the
values that guide us and the goals we pursue are noble and life-promoting courage reveals a caring
attitude for the well-being of others for unlike the coward who is concerned primarily for his
or her own safety and who demands everyone else conformed to his or her neurotic ways
the hero is willing to risk life and limb in the service of values that move society forward
or as aleister mcintyre wrote an after virtue a study and moral theory
if someone says that he cares for some individual community or cause but is unwilling to risk harm
or danger on his her or its behalf he puts into question the genuineness of his care and concern
courage the capacity to risk harm or danger to oneself has its role in human life because
of this connection with care and concern if therefore we desire a fulfilling life
care for our mental health and care for the future of our society we need to act with courage and not
worship at the altar of safety we need to take risks in the service of life promoting values
and not adhere to the view that a good life is a safe life for believe me wrote nietzsche the
secret for harvesting from existence the greatest fruitfulness and the greatest enjoyment is to live
dangerously build your cities on the slopes of vesuvius send your ships into unchartered seas
soon the age will be passed when you could be content to live hidden in force like shy deer
for more content like this visit the youtube channel
academy of ideas or the website academyofideas.com