You Don’t Need Permission to be Courageous
I spent Saturday night watching the movie Bonhoeffer from Angel Studios. I don’t do movie reviews, at least not professionally, but this one deserves a bit of attention.
If you aren’t familiar with the story of Dietrich Bonhoeffer don’t worry, I wasn’t either. Bonhoeffer was a pastor in the Church of Germany during World War II, that much we know. The rest of the movie seems to be under a lot of scrutiny, including being called “fantasy” and “made up”. It portrays him as a preacher, a bit of a spy, a participant in an attempt to assassinate Hitler, and a protector of Jews. I don’t know how much, if any of it, is true.
Frankly, I don’t care.
There are a number of very poignant lines of dialogue in the movie. As a writer, I picked out a few that struck me as very well written within the story and very well delivered by the actors. But one stuck out more than the rest.
“You don’t have to ask permission to be courageous.”
Bonhoeffer was speaking to his father about taking a stand against the Nazis who were invading the Church. He knew there would be consequences against himself, his family, and his friends. He wanted and needed support from his family before he spoke out publicly. He asked his father for permission to speak out. That was his father’s response.
“You don’t have to ask permission to be courageous.”
The line was brilliant. Brilliantly written and delivered. But also brilliant for everyone to hear and think about.
It is something many of us have done, whether we knew it or not, at some point in our lives. We weren’t asking for someone to agree with us. We weren’t necessarily asking permission to do what we wanted to do. We were asking for someone to recognize and support the courage it took to do whatever it was we were about to embark upon.
Courage has boundaries determined only by the person displaying it. It’s not just running into a burning building, jumping out of a plane, or heading into a firefight. Courage for some can be as simple as getting out of bed in the morning, or giving a speech in front of a room full of strangers, or getting a shot from a doctor.
I was 19 years old when I called my parents and said I wanted to enlist in the National Guard. I didn’t need their permission. I wanted their blessing and their support because this was a life changing decision. It was a decision to be courageous.
I spent my adult life around men and women who chose to be courageous. Over 25 years in uniform and over 3 years in combat. I was around heroic and courageous people every single day. No one ever asked permission to be courageous, they just needed to know they had support behind them when it counted.
The Bonhoeffer character represented in the movie repeatedly showed courage and inspired others to do the same. He stood at a pulpit and talked down to the Nazis in the pews. A colleague later did the same thing, gaining courage from the example Bonhoeffer set. He inspired the Church of England to speak out on behalf of the Jews after he did it as a representative of the Church of Germany. He became a leader of other political prisoners because of the courage he showed while in prison.
Again, I don’t care if it was true or not or even if it is remotely accurate. The story, as much as there are messages about antisemitism, fascism, religion, persecution, and war, it is a story about being courageous in the face of personal danger. It is about standing nose to nose with your enemy, looking him in the eye, and telling him to go f*ck himself.
And doing it without asking permission.
In a world of social media where everyone is under a watchful and very scrutinizing lens, we often hesitate to be truly courageous because we want someone to tell us it’s ok. I’m not talking about keyboard warriors who run all over the platforms threatening people and talking about how tough they are. That’s not courage.
I am talking about the people who are truly courageous, standing against the waves as they roll in. The ones who stand up for what they believe in, knowing someone is there applauding their courage whether they agree with their principles or not. Not asking permission.
If you are that person, know that I am out here cheering you on. Show that courage. Real courage. I applaud you for it. Whether I agree with you or not, being brave and showing that courage is something we should all applaud.
Be Bonhoeffer. Show courage. And remember…. You Don’t Need Permission to be Courageous.