Do not despair: In dark days, moral courage is required | Opinion
What should you do when everything seems rotten? Many may feel that way right now, whether because of the images of federal immigration officers fatally shooting a Minnesotan at point-blank range, or the images of the devastating Los Angeles fires on the tragedy’s one-year anniversary.
When things fall apart, what should a good person do? This question is the heart of “tragic ethics.” Tragedy provides an opportunity to demonstrate wisdom and virtue. This is true in politically challenging times, as well as in times of personal suffering and grief.
When disaster strikes, we must fortify our commitment to the good against the temptations of cynicism and despair.
It is easy to be good in decent conditions. Kindness and truthfulness are easy when everyone is happy, honest and good. But in a vicious world, kindness will be taken advantage of. And when everyone is lying, honesty will be attacked as fake news.
Violence and war create acutely tragic conditions. Those who speak out against unjust wars are often reviled by patriotic warmongers. Violence disrupts the conditions under which compassion and truth can flourish.
When the world is rotten, some may join in the chaos, thinking, “If you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em.” Others may try to hide or escape. But merging with the mayhem is immoral. And escapism is subtly complicit.
Hiding your head in the sand does nothing to improve a moral desert.
In dark days, moral courage is required. A good way to foster courage is to consult moral heroes. Thinking about our heroes helps clarify what we value.
I view Socrates as my touchstone. Socrates refused to run away when the Athenians turned against him. He was not afraid to speak the truth, nor did he give up hope on humanity. Socrates thought that evil was the result of ignorance and that ignorance can be defeated by education.
Christians often ask, “What would Jesus do?” Would Jesus support war, political corruption and authoritarianism? Or would he console the victims of violence and offer love to the unloved? Would he hide out in the hills of Galilee, or would he march into Jerusalem?
In imagining our role models, we discover a source of moral courage. But we also see that moral courage is not without its dangers. Socrates and Jesus were both put to death.
The tragic truth is that goodness does not always prevail. Suffering and grief are difficult and real. In the short term, immoral force can overpower virtue. And systems of authoritarian power can grind down generations of good people.
But in the long run, moral courage shines like a beacon against the darkness. Athens fell, as did Rome. But Jesus and Socrates have endured.
Several years ago, I had the opportunity to publish an essay by Reverend James Lawson, one of the leaders of the American Civil Rights Movement. Lawson, who passed away a couple of years ago, held out hope that the world can improve despite its evils. He called upon us to live “with other human options than the status quo.” As he put it, you need to live “as a citizen of a country that does not yet exist.”
That’s an inspiring idea. Socrates and Jesus lived lives that transcended the status quo. Moral heroes inhabit a different realm: They live in accord with another, better set of values than those of this rotten world.
This does not mean that it is easy to live up to the ideal. There are very few saviors, saints and sages. The rest of us muddle through. We will be tempted to despair, but we ought to resist complicity and do our best to avoid cynicism.
The tragic truth is that evil sometimes triumphs and that we must nonetheless persevere. This may seem a dismal conclusion, but such is the nature of the world. No one ever said it was easy to be good.
What is more, if life was always easy and good, our virtue would never be tested. The Roman philosopher Seneca said, “Calamity is virtue’s opportunity.” If you never confront misfortune, your strength and goodness will never be challenged. Seneca explained, “If a man is to know himself, he must be tested.”
In tragic circumstances your virtue will be tested. Will you live as a citizen of a better world, or will you give in to cynicism and despair? In confronting this choice, you discover what you value and who you really are.
Andrew Fiala is a professor of philosophy and director of The Ethics Center at Fresno State.
This story was originally published January 11, 2026 at 5:00 AM with the headline "Do not despair: In dark days, moral courage is required | Opinion."