I think sometimes Courage answers to the name “Crazy.”
Meet Gordon Hirabayashi.
“Thirty days for count one and thirty days for count two.” The judge eyed Gordon. “Does the defendant have anything to say?”
“Yes, Your Honor. Could I have a longer sentence?”
“You want a longer sentence?”
“If you give me a ninety-day sentence I can serve this thing outdoors.”
“All right. I can give you ninety days. Any further objections?”
Gordon left the court room prepared to appeal the case to the Supreme Court, if necessary, and to serve his sentence in a prison without walls.
Then came a standstill.
A few months later, in an office…
“Gordon, we have a problem. The road camp here in Washington is off limits to you, and the next closest road camp is in Tucson, Arizona. We don’t have the funds to send you there.”
“What if I pay my own way?”
“You’re going to pay your own way to prison?”
“I really want to be outdoors.”
“Hmm. If you pay your own way, then I think we can make this work.”
“Really?”
“That’s a long way, though. How do you plan on getting there?”
“Greyhound bus.”
“Okay, I’ll write you an authorization letter.”
As soon as Gordon left the office, he realized he’d made a mistake.
Paying his way, he was violating his principles. He was innocent, had been deprived of a fair trial, and was fighting to uphold the 5th Amendment.
And now paying his way to prison? What did that say?
So he decided to hitch-hike.
They didn’t specify how he had to get to Tucson.
Gordon spent the next two weeks heading south—enjoying mountain scenery, visiting his girlfriend along the way, and even stopping in Las Vegas to play some slots.
When he arrived at the road camp, the man in charge first asked him if he was a Hopi.
“No, sir.”
Then, “What did you say your last name was?”
“Hirabayashi.”
“Hmm.”
After Gordon explained, the man in charge looked at him like he’d just said he was Queen Elizabeth I.
“You paid your own way?”
“Hitch-hiked.”
“And you came by yourself?”
“Yes, sir.”
Gordon could hear the desert sun frying the air outside.
“Well, Mr. Hirabayashi, I don’t have anything on file for you. Why don’t you go into town and watch a movie then come back at 7pm.”
Now it was Gordon’s turn to stare.
“There’s air conditioning in the movie theatre.”
That was all Gordon needed to hear. “I’ll be back at seven.”
And he was.
(The above conversations are paraphrased from Hold These Truths. After I wrote this, I found a clip of the first two vignettes.)
Ready for more crazy-looking courage?
On his wedding day, Gordon had a warrant out for his arrest because he had written a very polite, insightful letter instead of simply checking boxes on a questionnaire. Apparently that made him “disloyal.” Also, a man of principle and an upholder of the Constitution.
His father always told him, “The nail that sticks out is the one that gets hit.” It’s an ancient Japanese proverb encouraging conformity.
Gordon held hands with Courage. Gordon wasn’t afraid to get hit. He knew the nail was bigger than the hammer.
And, in the end, that made his father proud.