Dr. Linus Pauling - A Model of Courage Essay -- Argumentative Persuasi

The Strength of Character of Dr. Linus Pauling   When it comes to righteous courage, no one thinks of scientists. good courage brings to mind the Chinese protestor who leapt in front of a store in Tiananmen Square, the conductors of the Underground Railroad who led slaves to freedom, and the freedom fighters of the strugglesaw Ghetto, who fought to their deaths against the Nazis. The Chinese protestor, the northern conductor, and the Jewish resistance fighters were common people transformed by extraordinary times. Their clean-living beliefs led them into danger that was immediate, terrifying, and tangible.   Some forms of example courage are less obvious. In fact one of historys greatest examples of moral courage comes from a place no one would ever assume - the field of lore. It may not seem possible to compare a man who worked in a laboratory to a man who head slaves to freedom. After all, the Underground Railroad conductor physically risked his life solar day a fter day, but the danger that one brave chemist go about was just as real. A brilliant chemist, and a man of unshakeable moral convictions, Dr. Linus Pauling protected the humane race from the unparalleled danger of nuclear war. Paulings moral stand is a ensample for morality in science.   During World War II the United States employed scientists on the top-secret atomic flop program. Desperate for a weapon to use against Germany and Japan, the government recruited all the inject up American scientists. One of the few scientists to refuse to work on the misfire was Linus Pauling. It was a difficult decision because the Federal government was exerting a serve of pressure sensation on him. In addition to the pressure, the project itself was hard to act down. A scientist lives for a proj... ... will be responsible for using science morally. And that is why Linus Pauling is so important to me. In the face of great pressure and danger, he took a moral stand for his beliefs . He is my role model for his moral courage.   Paulings moral stand was not glamorous. It was not the glorious courage of the movies. But if moral courage is supporting ones beliefs no matter what, thence Pauling clearly was a hero. He was threatened by the atomic die no more than anyone else was but he alone decided to take responsibility for it. He knew the devastation of the bomb, and as a scientist, an American and a human, he refused to dodge his moral responsibility. Pauling is a role model and a moral hero because he bravely stood for morality on behalf of the human rare.   1 Interview with Dr. Linus Pauling, Regents of the University of California, Berkley, 1996.