In my eyes it takes the most courage to be the bigger person that doesn’t respond to violence. Of course it’s smart to acknowledge it and know that there is a threat. But there is never a real need to be violent unless you physically were fighting for your life. In this day in age, I see people about the same age as me always ready to fight with violence like it is how you are supposed to solve problems. Back when Dr. Martin Luther King Jr and Rosa Parks where fighting for equal rights in Montgomery, they used peaceful protests to make a stand. To do something like that in those times was a really frightening goal. Yet, through all the tough times and the peaceful protests, the Southern Christian Leadership Conference was able to achieve respect throughout the world and bring equal rights to all in the 21st century.  Marisol Valle Garcia has shown courage by taking the role of police chief for Guadalupe Distrito Bravo on March 1st 2010. She did this with the goals to completely ignore the Cartels and focus on the innocent people that were being affected by the war on drugs.

                 19 people turned down the job of police chief before Marisol Valle took on the role. Her predecessor’s head was found in front of the police station that he worked at. His body was found tied up and tortured. A drug cartel is able to do that to someone who is there to protect innocent people. To take on this job, you would have to be at peace with the fact that an early death is probable. Marisol was 21 years old, a new mother, and a college student. All of those things made her an easy target for cartels. Yet she stood her ground and continued her mission to build community and secure the safety of citizens and to aid the casualties of the cartel’s mafia. She hired a police force of 13 officers, 9 of which were women and mostly unarmed. With only one patrol car and four guns between all of the police officers, Marisol Valles insisted on working unarmed herself. These two activists have shaped my definition of courage. I remember countless times in my life where people around me, even those which I considered friends, turned violent against me. Every time that I have had these confrontations with violence I’ve always stood my grounds on being peaceful, making sure to never “be the guy who swings first.” In doing so I am able to see how dedicated the other person is to being violent. That isn’t an easy thing to sit through, mostly because there is a chance people can actually just “blow up”. In my mind I hope that by the aggressor seeing my nonviolent response to his/her behavior, they remember themselves being the one who was asking for the violence. I am by no means a religious person but I do believe in a little thing called Karma. When it comes to Karma, I am to believe that what energy you put out there will be the energy that you get back.  I want the world to show courage in the face of all obstacles big or small.