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It's Time for Temerity

October 9th, 2008 · No Comments · Honesty & Candor, Influencers, Politics

Dr. Ian Hay, international missions statesman, wrote an article some years ago about “The Old Temerity.” It was the first time I consciously encountered the word temerity. Abridged dictionaries capture only a piece of its rich meaning. They focus not on the boldness which is at the heart of temerity, they instead press on the foolhardy side of the term. They miss its richness.

Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary (1913) defines temerity thusly :

Te*mer”i*ty (?), n.[L. temeritas, from temere, by chance, rashly; perhaps akin to Skr. tamas darkness: cf. F. témérité.]

Unreasonable contempt of danger; extreme venturesomeness; rashness; as, the temerity of a commander in war. Syn. — Rashness; precipitancy; heedlessness; venturesomeness.

— Temerity, Rashness. These words are closely allied in sense, but have a slight difference in their use and application. Temerity is Latin, and rashness
is Anglo-Saxon. As in many such cases, the Latin term is more select
and dignified; the Anglo-Saxon more familiar and energetic. We show temerity in hasty decisions, and the conduct to which they lead. We show rashness in particular actions, as dictated by sudden impulse. It is an exhibition of temerity to approach the verge of a precipice; it is an act of rashness to jump into a river without being able to swim. Temerity, then, is an unreasonable contempt of danger; rashness is a rushing into danger from thoughtlessness or excited feeling.

I prefer to think of temerity as Dr. Hay did: a boldness that defies convention, trends, prevailing wisdom and/or accepted norms. He used it to describe pioneering missionaries who despite the dangers of unchecked and incurable malaria, hardships of every kind, and uncertain reception by tribes that had never seen an Anglo-Saxon face, pressed into what is now Nigeria. They went because they believed that the Gospel was intended for “every creature” and not just the privileged few in Europe or America. They cared about people they had never met and about whom they knew relatively little. They had temerity. Today there are millions of Christians in Nigeria who are living not as Westerners, but as people of faith whose lives, communities, and cultures have taken on a new hope.

The world financial crisis — seemingly worlds away from 19th century missionary pioneers and their temerity — is due, in no small part, to irresponsible, greedy temerity winning the day. And good people who knew better, who had misgivings, who could have and should have stood up against the craziness and vacuity of derivatives, did nothing. They languished in the shadow of Alan Greenspan, the demigod who ruled America’s economy. Washington, populated by lawyers, lobbyists, and lunatics who are adept at spending, not managing, money was totally incapable of a reasonable response. Now we throw $700,000,000,000 at the problem and it seems to keep getting worse.

Rubin & Greenspan
Even the New York Times now says, “Today, with the world caught in an economic tempest that Mr. Greenspan recently described as ‘the type of wrenching financial crisis that comes along only once in a century,’ his faith in derivatives remains unshaken. . . . ‘Clearly, derivatives are a centerpiece of the crisis, and he was the leading proponent of the deregulation of derivatives,’ said Frank Partnoy, a law professor at the University of San Diego and an expert on financial regulation. . . .  If Mr. Greenspan had acted differently during his tenure as Federal Reserve chairman from 1987 to 2006, many economists say, the current crisis might have been averted or muted. Over the years, Mr. Greenspan helped enable an ambitious American experiment in letting market forces run free. Now, the nation is confronting the consequences” (New York Times, October 8, 2008).

So what about the rest of us? What can we learn from global events that are out of our control? We can learn that without the timely use of temerity we all are subject to consequences that range from unfortunate to dire. For example, when we see black and white, obsessive-compulsive behaviors take over a group, a company, a culture we must stand up and say that there are indeed shades of gray. And that chief among the gray shades are people. People count. People are not statistics, charted trends, or problems. Everyone matters. That’s why the bold men and women who braved all the dangers of West Africa in the 19th century did what the black and white leaders of the day said they could not. “You will not see the Sudan. Your children will not see the Sudan. Your children’s children may,” said an Anglican bishop from his comfortable lodgings in London. He was wrong. Temerity was right.

It’s time for some temerity. And timely temerity begins with you and me. Not in Washington or London. You will seldom find it there.

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