For nearly a week, I had New York Times columnist David French’s column on courage open to read on my laptop. I am an inveterate abuser of browser tabs and frequently have enough open that only the small icon on the left remains.
His column had been squished down on several occasions as I opened links from people who raved about it. It was only after doing a little Christmas Day cleanup that I finally got around to reading it.
Like a Proustian lemon madeleine, it sent waves of memories through my mind in vivid images and awakened emotions.
French’s column analyzes the virtue of bravery through individual acts. It starts with the extraordinary actions of Ahmed el Ahmed and Boris and Sofia Gurman fighting the Bondi Beach shooters with their bare hands. All were shot in the attempt, and the Gurmans both lost their lives. But they saved many, many others.
The column parades through contrasts in cowardice like the police at Uvalde and comparisons in political action such as voting to impeach President Donald Trump after the January 6th insurrection. However, the hook that sets deepest is a brief narrative about French’s wife, Nancy, putting herself in harm’s way to protect another woman.
I met David French when we both spoke at the University of Colorado’s Conference on World Affairs in 2022. However, it was not until he wrote a series of columns on the 14th Amendment challenge I filed and helped litigate against Trump that I e-met Nancy via Twitter. She is whip-smart, kind and strong. She is one of my favorite social media follows.
David French also does not have enough words in any column to describe Nancy’s bravery. She kicked cancer to the curb and has fought powerful people to protect children from abuse — thanks to her efforts, during the Broncos’ Christmas Day game I only felt revulsion as Al Michaels lauded the Hunt family, owners of the Kansas City Chiefs, and prominent supporters of a camp Nancy has repeatedly exposed for its “documented, rampant pedophilia.”
So while David’s story is poignant, it is not surprising for anyone who has interacted with his wife. Reading it, though, made me relive other moments I have seen exceptional individual acts of courage and self-sacrifice.
My mind first jumped to Matthew Silverstone. This past September he saved lives at Evergreen High School when he fought with a school shooter. Shot in the head and chest, he survived with significant trauma that will forever change his life. He left an acute care hospital to a hero’s welcome in October, but almost certainly spent this holiday season at a rehabilitation center. His family continues to raise funds through Go Fund Me for his ongoing needs, even as he has regained the ability to speak and crack a joke.
From Silverstone my heart immediately jumped to the teachers inside Evergreen on that day. Underreported and underappreciated, those teachers also saved lives. When shots started to ring out through the high school hallways, they quickly leaped to action, securing their classrooms and calming their students. Maybe because I’m married to a teacher, the tears well in my eyes whenever I think about those teachers placing themselves closest to the doorway, ready shields for the children in their care.
In a blur my mind traveled back in time to Columbine and Dave Sanders, the teacher who set the unwritten standard almost every teacher commits to today. More than 25 years ago he ushered students to safety. Again and again he helped students make their way outside to safety and their families. He could have left, but did not when he knew there were more students he could help.
That memory quickly blurred into images from September 11th. Last month, Lori and I visited the 9/11 Memorial & Museum for the first time. Walking down into the museum where the foundation of a 110-story building once stood made the trip somber.
But the stories of first responders rushing into pillars of smoke and fire cannot be dimmed by either the windowless setting or time passing. I felt my throat catch when I saw, hanging on a wall, a life-sized cutout of a friend who survived. The stories he told me years ago about his colleagues and family who had not walked away have remained with me as inspirational beacons of self-sacrifice.
From the shared awe of that moment in time I then found myself again sitting in a lonely courtroom with my friend whose grandson was murdered just over a year ago. She raised him to be a good person who did not turn a blind eye to others in trouble.
According to witness statements and a convenience store security video, he interceded in an altercation between a man and woman. He did not get physical or attack anyone, he simply stopped and said something to make sure the woman would be safe.
In turn, the other man pulled out a gun and shot my friend’s grandson in the chest, killing him almost immediately.
And then I was back in front of my computer reading about Nancy French. I am both glad she had the courage to stand up for another human being and the fortune to walk away. Not that the latter was a part of her calculus.
As I wrote about Silverstone, I think that special kind of courage is a combination of innate selflessness, pre-conditioned decisions and instinctual reaction. In the moment, it is what you have made yourself over a lifetime that comes out.
Moving into a new year, I will be thankful that there are plenty of others who share these traits, saddened that they will surely be tested and hopeful that more will be fortunate enough to escape without harm. There is plenty to be grateful for at this time of year, but people with real courage will be at the top of my list.
Mario Nicolais is an attorney and columnist who writes on law enforcement, the legal system, health care and public policy. Follow him on BlueSky: @MarioNicolais.bsky.social.
The Colorado Sun is a nonpartisan news organization, and the opinions of columnists and editorial writers do not reflect the opinions of the newsroom. Read our ethics policy for more on The Sun’s opinion policy. Learn how to submit a column. Reach the opinion editor at [email protected].
Follow Colorado Sun Opinion on Facebook.
Hence then, the article about nicolais courage in others even at a terrible cost should make us all grateful was published today ( ) and is available on Colorado Sun ( Middle East ) The editorial team at PressBee has edited and verified it, and it may have been modified, fully republished, or quoted. You can read and follow the updates of this news or article from its original source.
Read More Details
Finally We wish PressBee provided you with enough information of ( Nicolais: Courage in others, even at a terrible cost, should make us all grateful )
Also on site :
- Natural gas line rupture stops traffic on 5 Freeway in Castaic
- 30–35 terrorists on radar: Army steps up counterterror ops in J&K; intense vigil amid 'Chillai Kalan'
- No. 20 Virginia notches first 11-win season by beating 25th-ranked Missouri in the Gator Bowl