They worked hard for it. They took it seriously. They liked it. They didn’t want to lose it.
Who would? Who would want to lose their position? Their identity? Their career or their home?
But when Helvidius was threatened with removal from the Senate by the emperor Vespasian, he refused to refrain from his criticism. Rutilius was willing to be exiled. So was Agrippinus. They were not willing to trade their self-respect for maintaining their access. They understood there were fates worse in life than being cut off—in fact, they would rather be cut off from Rome than cut off from their values.
Courage is not an easy thing. It is not free. It is not without risk or sacrifice. That’s the whole point. If it weren’t, there would be nothing to be afraid of, nothing for fear to whisper in our ear about. Courage is about triumphing over that doubt—it is fighting to do what’s right, to remain consistent with what philosophy demands of us.
We are living, right now, in a world where leaders are not doing this and we are experiencing the consequences. Apparently there is not enough shame in the world to get them to change.
But what about us? Where is our bravery? Where will we draw the line? What will we put on the line?