Courage.

Was thinking about Dan Rather this morning. His prefered way of ending his pieces was by saying, "Courage". The context of this is unbound (the courage to fight for your country, the courage in saving others without regard for self, the courage to do something that someone else has not tried, the courage to bring a child into this world, the courage to stand for something you believe, the courage to overcome a defeat, .....fill in the blanks), indeed a reminder of boldness. Like may ideals, something to move towards. Dan Rather was really abused over the mistakes made over the false documents in relation to President Bush's time in the National Guard. On one hand, the mistake was major and Rather did deserve the responsibility as lead reporter. What bothers me is that seems to be his ending note legacy, with major newspapers and public discussion focused on this. What of redemption? What of the acomplishments in his career? Timing can sometimes swipe us the wrong way. Whther you think Rather was over-rated, a biased liberal, whatever your critisisms, he had something. Why? Because he took chances. He pushed the envelope. He extended the debate. He made us think and he gave us a glimpse of the world, from his eyes and he inspired - Courage. Courage indeed. Dan Rather is by no means gone, 60 minutes perhaps will be his redemption. I hope so.