When I was a child I read about Catholic martyrs, Jews and other people who refused to “convert” and were murdered because of their religion. I remember thinking at the time, “Why didn’t they just pretend to believe what their murderers dictated? In their minds, they could still believe whatever they wanted and nobody would know.”
These people who held fast to their religious beliefs were held up as examples of faith, courage and strength.
But they were all dead because of it.
As I got older, I learned how to deal with bullies. While I am a big believer that standing up to bullies is the only way to stop them, sometimes I chose another path.
Why did I not stand up every time? At first, it was because I was inexperienced, weak and afraid. Later, it was because I though ingratiating myself might “win over” the bully. Once I became an adult, I firmly believed that punching a bully in the face was quite effective and rewarding – unless my odds of success were so bad that I might not survive without serious consequences.
It is more important to live to fight another day.
This is why I can empathize with the law firms, CEOs and other public figures who are “kissing the ring” of Trump to curry his favor.
He has the power to destroy their careers, companies, lives and fortunes by leveraging social media, the justice department, frivolous lawsuits, the FCC, the SEC and the power of the Federal government. He can ruin them.
I admire those who stand up to the bully for their beliefs. I fear that some will pay a terrible price.
I’d like to say that I would stand up to him if I were in their shoes, but I cannot.
It would depend on how much I had to lose and how willing I was to lose it.