An Element of Risk – Sunday, September 22 1985
It is an unwritten law that excess is dangerous. And, in a democracy such as the United States, where good fortune and technology have combined to produce prosperity for the majority of the people, excess is especially prevalent.
Prosperity itself, in excess, is a danger, for it robs mankind of the single most important ingredient to character development—risk.
We have used our prosperity to reduce many of life’s risks. From cradle to grave we are protected, guarded, sheltered, and preserved from the risks of life. We have almost succeeded in the elimination of failure, and in so doing we have also reduced the potential for valid and satisfying success.
For there are certain things that cannot be obtained without a portion of risk, certain traits which cannot be obtained without an element of chance, many divine objectives which cannot be met without the possibility of failure.
The American revolution of independence was spawned and nurtured in the creative waters of risk—the risk of defeat, the risk of shame, the risk of death. And, with risk, a new nation was formed, mountains conquered, seas charted, airways navigated, and people educated.
But now, for many, the ideal is security. In our jobs, in our schools, in our homes, and in society we are no longer concerned with what we can contribute or learn, but with material benefits—how much it pays, how long it lasts, the retirement advantages, the guarantees against failure.
But a life with all the risks removed is a fire without heat, an unending intoxication devoid of feeling and awareness.
Without risk, men’s minds become soggy and atrophied.
Without risk, success is impossible.
Without risk, our lives are smothered and sickly, stagnant and pale in the rancid waters of indulgence and ease.
One hour of life—exciting, motion packed, risk-filled life—is worth years of stupefied subsistence. To simply be is not enough. To feel, to experience, to grow and learn, to gamble on oneself, and perhaps even to fail—these compose a life worth living.
September 22, 1985
Broadcast Number 2,927