For Those Who Fight, The Warriors

Courage, bravery, loyalty, honor. These are the traits we look for and admire in a soldier. It is a soldier’s duty to fight when they are told, to obey orders unquestioningly.

These are traits to be respected not only in a soldier, but traits many of the rest of us aspire to, though few of us achieve or have the opportunity to achieve them. But even those who do not fight must exhibit a certain degree of bravery and loyalty, especially when it comes to protecting those who have sacrificed so much for us. Let me make for you a bit of a comparison and see if it doesn’t make sense.

It is the job of a boxer’s corner to be looking out for him, to give him what he needs and to protect him from his own courage if need be. A courageous boxer, the kind that we most admire, will look to take on any opponent. A boxer in the ring against a determined and skilled opponent is the epitome of courage. He knows that he has to dig deep and that he has to be willing to risk it all, perhaps even his life. Any boxer who’s been around for a while knows the risks involved. He knows about brain damage, Parkinson’s, the fact that all his efforts have very little chance of any real reward or glory. And yet the fighter fights on, driven by some deep pride and a need to show his true metal. Someone who has proven himself within the squared circle is a man without anything hidden in his character.

But all the courage a boxer has must be tempered by those in his corner, those who are on his team and whose job it is to look out for him. Theirs is the task of encouraging him when he needs to go the extra mile but their job also is to make sure his courage does not lead him to make bad decisions.

It’s an old story, the boxer who’s seen too many fights and gets used by those around him. Unscrupulous fight promoters and greedy managers send brave men into the ring when they have no business being there.

It’s the same thing with a soldier, really. There are those willing to put the soldier’s life on the line for their own personal gain. There are those who will ask everything of a fighter and when he’s given his all will turn his back on him while counting the profits they’ve made from a warrior’s sweat and blood. You see, as far as they’re concerned, there’s always another brave young man willing to take his place, desiring to prove his quality and his bravery. Courage and the desire to test one’s greatness are in no shortage in the human race, something for which we can all be thankful. But the willingness to profit off the labor and sacrifice of others is also deeply imbedded in the human race, something we must always be watchful of.

Lots of people who’ve never fought a round themselves make a lot of money on the fight game, leaving many of those who do the work penniless and broken for their efforts. It’s a sucker’s game but the fighter goes into it with the best of intentions. Most are noble people looking to better themselves, looking to take care of their family and loved ones.

I’ve been a fight fan all my life. I’ve seen guys show unbelievable strength in the ring, guys fighting for little more than pride. God help me, I’ve seen men die in the ring. And in some small way I can’t help feeling responsible for them.

I’ve cheered men on in a brutal sport. I’ve encouraged others to watch, hell, I’ve even wanted to be a fighter myself. Like so many others I wanted to know what I was made of, wanted to know if I could take the best the world or another man could throw at me.

But I’ve seen enough. I no longer feel good about asking others to step into the ring for my sake. I have come to feel personally responsible for a sport I believe does more harm than good. I won’t ask someone not to test their courage, because that is their decision to make. But I will not encourage the sport. I will not pay money to some ruthless promoter to make a fight happen. I’ve seen too many valiant warriors be allowed to push themselves beyond where they ever should have gone, who fought too many fights and received too much punishment. And while I salute their courage, I will no longer allow my own interests to overtake theirs. I will no longer bask in the reflected courage of another but will instead try to be brave in my own right, and for me that means to look out for their interests when others are trying to make a buck off of their sacrifices, to stand up and make a scene if necessary when brutality is nothing more than a money-making scheme.

The same with our fighting men and women. It’s easy to stand behind them as they walk off to battle. There is no bravery in that, no bravery in asking others to do what you will not. It is harder to stand in front, to put oneself in harm’s way between two opposing warriors about to prove their bravery while rich men get richer off them. And while I don’t ever expect to put an end to the fight business, I myself promise to stop watching war as a spectator sport. Because while I’ve never been a warrior myself, I do have some idea what it is like to feel the need to prove yourself in a game you wouldn’t have thought of on your own. I know to a degree the kind of life that leads people to want to prove themselves in ways that the wealthy and fortunate seldom choose. And while my courage in opposing the game will never equal those who partake in it, perhaps exhibiting some courage myself might lessen the need somewhat for courage in those who fight. We owe them that much. Because too often, while it takes a brave man to go to war, it merely requires a nation of cowards to send him.