Category: Blaze Media
The courage we lost is hiding in the simplest places
If you’ll indulge one more cabin story, it’s only because remodeling an unlevel structure may be the clearest metaphor for the challenges caregivers face — and, I suspect, for the condition of America itself.
Out here in rural Montana, you learn quickly that when a project needs doing, you can pay a lot for it, wait a long time, use duct tape, or learn to do it yourself. Usually it’s some combination of the four. And while I’ve adapted to that reality, certain home-improvement tasks still give me the willies — mainly anything with a blade spinning fast enough to launch lumber toward Yellowstone National Park.
There is something life-giving about facing the hard thing in front of us instead of avoiding it.
Who knew you needed a helmet to cut boards?
I’ve been a pianist longer than I’ve been a caregiver, and since my hands pay the bills, I prefer to keep all my fingers intact. Let’s just say that when it comes to carpentry, I can really play the piano.
Recently we removed an old door in our cabin and needed to rebuild the wall. Help was delayed, so I decided to tackle it myself. The wall wasn’t the problem. The miter saw was. When I noticed the blade catching the afternoon light, it looked downright smug.
It knew.
Still I’ve met many builders in our county, and only one is missing a finger. Thankfully none answer to “Lefty.” If they can keep their body parts, maybe I can too. My rule is simple: Measure 17 times, cut once — and do it slowly.
So I got to work. In an old cabin nothing is plumb, so my level and I argued for quite a while. Even so, the studs went in, something close to square took shape, and despite a few caregiving interruptions, the wall was framed by sundown.
I was proud of myself. I took pictures. I bragged a little. Some builders may roll their eyes, but I’d do the same if they bragged about playing “Chopsticks.”
But it wasn’t really the blade. It was the fear behind it — the fear of getting something wrong, of creating a problem I couldn’t undo. And that fear isn’t limited to carpentry. When we let fear or anxiety keep us from picking up the tool and learning, whole parts of our lives remain unfinished.
We live in half-built cabins — studs exposed, projects stalled, confidence untested because we never moved toward the thing that intimidates us.
America was built by people who weren’t afraid to try hard things. They carved farms out of wilderness. Built railroads with crude tools. Raised barns without safety manuals. When something broke, they fixed it; when they didn’t know how, they learned anyway. Imperfectly, but persistently.
That spirit carried us for generations. Today we struggle to find it.
We’ve created a culture that treats effort as optional and discomfort as a crisis. We warn people not to push themselves. We offer labels and excuses instead of encouragement. We outsource everything, including our resilience. Hard things are treated as unsafe instead of character-building.
Many believe our greatest dangers are political, economic, or global. Maybe. But something quieter may be worse: We are losing the courage to try.
I say that as someone who has spent 40 years as a caregiver. Disease, trauma, addiction, aging — none of it yields to effort or skill. Day after day, fighting a battle you cannot win wears down confidence. Caregiving rarely gives you the satisfaction of a finished job or something tangible you can hold in your hands.
RELATED: My crooked house made me rethink what really needs fixing
kudou via iStock/Getty Images
But tackling something you can finish, even if it makes the hair on your neck stand up, pushes back against that erosion of self-reliance. There is courage in doing the thing we’d rather avoid. When we take on something small but intimidating, we rediscover a steadiness we thought we’d lost — not bravado, not swagger, just the quiet certainty that we can still learn, grow, and accomplish something in a world that feels increasingly out of control.
And sometimes the payoff is simple. It’s something you can point to. That framed doorway in my cabin isn’t perfect, but it stands as proof that I stepped toward something unfamiliar and did it anyway. In a culture that avoids discomfort, even one small visible victory becomes fuel for courage. It tells you that you can do the next thing too.
As Emerson put it, a person who is not every day conquering some fear has not learned the secret of life. There is something life-giving about facing the hard thing in front of us instead of avoiding it.
That is the spirit America needs again — not bluster or political chest-thumping, but ordinary people choosing to try the hard thing right in front of them.
I will probably always be nervous around saws, but that doorway reminds me that courage often appears in the quiet places where we decide to try.
And there is absolutely no shame in wearing a helmet.
At least 2 killed, more wounded in shooting at Brown University
At least two are dead and others were wounded after a shooting Saturday at Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island, the New York Times reported.
An active shooter was reported just after 4:30 p.m. near the Barus and Holley engineering building on Hope Street, officials at the Ivy League college said, according to Fox News. Police were still searching for the shooter, who was described as a man dressed in black, the Times said.
‘It is imperative that all members of our community remain sheltered in place.’
Providence Mayor Brett Smiley told CNN that the doors of the engineering building where the shooting took place were unlocked since numerous final exams were being held there, according to the Times: “Based on what we heard from officials at Brown, anybody could have accessed the building at that time.”
Providence Fire Chief Derek Silva told the Times that two of the shooting victims were found dead at the scene.
Eight other shooting victims were being treated at Rhode Island Hospital, a spokeswoman told the Times, adding that six were in critical but stable condition, one was in critical condition, and another was in stable condition.
However, Smiley later announced that a ninth injured victim was identified, the Times said in a subsequent update, and that victim suffered non-life-threatening injuries from “fragments” related to the gunfire.
Smiley declined to provide any information about the victims, including whether they were Brown students, the Times said.
Brown University officials said just before 8:30 p.m. that the “campus continues to be in lockdown, and it is imperative that all members of our community remain sheltered in place,” the Times added.
Providence Deputy Police Chief Timothy O’Hara said police believe they are looking for a single gunman, the Times also said, adding that no weapon had been recovered and officials did not know what type of gun was used.
Rhode Island Gov. Dan McKee (D) said he spoke to FBI Director Kash Patel and that local, state, and federal officers were all searching for the gunman, the Times reported: “Everyone is working under the same goal right now — to keep everybody in that area safe and also to pursue” the attacker, McKee added to the paper.
This is a developing story; updates may be added.
Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!
From Defending Rape to Excusing 9/11: 10 Statements That Define Mainstream Media Darling Hasan Piker
Hasan Piker, the popular online streamer, seems to be everywhere these days—at Zohran Mamdani’s election night party, palling around with Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D., N.Y.), sharing a stage with Republican-turned-Bulwark operative Tim Miller, and in splashy media profiles. Especially the media profiles.
The post From Defending Rape to Excusing 9/11: 10 Statements That Define Mainstream Media Darling Hasan Piker appeared first on .
Hallmark of Culture Rot
Comfortingly predictable plots, trite yet charming storylines, guaranteed happy endings, and unrealistically glamorous decorations, wardrobes, homes, villages, and actors made…
Trump’s First Year of His Second Term Lacks the Drama of 2017. Good.
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump is a better boss the second time around. You can see it in his staffing….
State of Texas: Crockett shakes up Senate race for both Democrats and Republicans
U.S. Rep. Jasmine Crockett, D-Texas, may have just entered the Democratic primary for U.S. Senate on Monday, but according to a new poll she’s already the favorite to win.
Erika Kirk says ‘everyone has a responsibility’ to turn down political temperature in CBS town hall
Erika Kirk, widow of conservative activist Charlie Kirk, said in an interview released on Saturday that “everyone has a responsibility” to dial down intensifying violent rhetoric in the wake of her husband’s assassination in September. Kirk took questions from guests of a town hall, with CBS News editor-in-chief Bari Weiss as the moderator. Weiss reiterated…
At least 2 dead in shooting at Brown University
At least two people were killed on Saturday in a shooting at Brown University in Rhode Island and a suspect is still at large, according to authorities. The university initially said that multiple people were shot and transported to local hospitals, and later confirmed at least two deaths. Providence Mayor Brett Smiley told reporters that…
Trump attends, handles coin toss at Army-Navy college football game
President Trump on Saturday attended the annual Army-Navy college football game at M&T Bank Stadium in Baltimore, where he handled the coin toss and met with players before the game. Before he arrived, Trump said he was asked which side he supported, he wrote in a Truth Social post. “My answer is: ‘You must be…
Hawaii board votes to change official name of Hawaii Island
The Hawaii Board on Geographic Names voted to change the official name of the “Island of Hawaii” to simply “Hawaii,” bringing it in line with every other island in the state.
