Editorial: This, too, is the home of the brave

Opinion

Bravery, said American General Omar Bradley, is the capacity to perform properly even when scared half to death. It is a daunting task for most of us. Which is reason enough for today's Weekend Herald to highlight the 26 new recipients of the New Zealand Bravery Awards. They range across ages and occupations, and their acts of courage are diverse. But they share a common denominator: they were prepared to put their own safety at risk, often in an attempt to save the life of another person.

In some ways it seems almost quaint in this day and age to equate their acts with performing "properly". General Bradley was speaking to a generation that willingly suffered heavy loss of life in ridding the world of Nazism. Today's generation, in contrast, is often accused of selfishness; of putting its own interests before those of others and the greater good of society.

Equally, we have become extremely risk-averse. Children's playgrounds are about safety, not adventure; cyclists have helmets; and boaties must put on lifejackets. Past generations barely considered the risks of not doing so.

We also hear more about the fine line between bravery and foolhardiness. We are cautioned about tackling intruders because they might be armed.

Some of the recipients of the Bravery Awards blatantly ignored such beseeching. When another person's life was in danger, they found the strength of character to put their own at risk. Sometimes, loyalty was the telling factor, as in the case of Whangarei 12-year-old Ethan Kennedy, who intervened when his father was shot.

Sometimes, individuals gained resolve from the courage of those around them, as probably happened when Fenton Penetana and Trevor Mokaraka went to the aid of a Northland neighbour whose de facto partner had murdered her children.

Clearly, it helps also if people have been trained to cope with life-and-death situations, whether they are in the armed forces, the police or the fire brigade. We are, as Auckland University psychology lecturer Niki Harre notes, much more likely to be brave if we are comfortable with a situation. In effect, we are likely to be scared quarter to death.

Yet these awards include acts of courage by people caught in the most extraordinarily uncomfortable situations. The likes, for example, of Matthew Hollis, of Palmerston North, who rescued six trapped children from a burning house - then re-entered the building to save another.

In some cases the rescue attempts were unsuccessful. Waimate man Peter Deam could not save a boy from sinking into the stones of a boxed internal waterway channel. But the extreme danger in which he placed himself merits the top award, the New Zealand Bravery Star, which replaces the George Medal.

Bravery, in fact, is not about success or failure. It is about people putting themselves on the line; of willingly entering situations where others hesitate to tread. Occasionally, the risk will be too great. Bravery Star recipient Trevor Mokaraka, for example, lost his life while saving his neighbour.

If can be difficult to fathom such bravery, such selflessness. But it is impossible to ignore the noble intent. Such acts of bravery will inevitably cause us to wonder what we would do in similar circumstances.

They might even inspire us to act "properly".