What It Means to be Dauntless

The word “dauntless” means, “not to be daunted or intimidated; fearless, intrepid; bold, a dauntless hero” according to dictionary.com. Synonyms for it include, “bold”, “confident”, “determined”, “heroic”, “intrepid”, “resolute”, and “valiant”. While I don’t believe most of us go through life truly fearless, being able to manage fear (and let it speak when caution can save us) is important.   

I would also add that “dauntless” ends in “less”, in the same suffix-structure as “tireless”, “endless”, and “ceaseless”. It is to continuously pursue something to the core, the root: to the base essence of something with a purpose. A “dauntless American” is therefore a citizen of Jefferson’s great republic, the living embodiment of Washington’s shining city on the Potomac, and the living embodiment of united resistance against injustice.

To be dauntless is to continue without end, like a comet through the cosmos that flies a clear path, crashing into nothing and leaving a sparkling trail in its wake. It is to leap up like a glowing buoy in the middle of a dark ocean. It means doing what is fair and just, even if it is unpopular or personally problematic. It is easier said than done.

Jefferson’s republic is facing unprecedented challenges in the forms of a rapidly shrinking world on an Earth that is fixed in size, and Washington’s shining city is marred by both the physical dirt of reality and the grime of the ethically challenged. We live in a time when resistance cannot be calibrated by musket fire or charged literary documents that rebel against the established authority, but rather by the need to peacefully and amicably work within an imperfect framework towards a model for perfection.

To be dauntless is to be continually in pursuit of an accelerating destiny, while trimming one’s performance towards increasingly flawless efficiencies. In a small way, the dauntless are often those that sit down to Thanksgiving dinner they helped create. But not just any Thanksgiving: a five-day odyssey affair of epic side dishes, mouthwatering main courses, hearty desserts, and all manner of accouterments that would seem excessive to a Roman senator. Not content to bask in the salivating platitudes of his/her guests, he/she is the first to jump up before the first roll can be passed to exclaim, “I forgot the other cranberry relish tray!” In short, the dauntless appreciate their good fortune, but are not comfortable to rest on their laurels—instead they are left asking, “what’s next, and how will it make things better?”

In that spirit, a dauntless American is a United States citizen that is left with these perpetual questions, asking what’s next for himself/herself, America, the world, and what is the role that each of us plays within it to make what’s next the best it can be? It is to be a tirelessly valiant and heroic architect acting as part of a team with a shared destiny that we are each charged with to make so much greater than it already is.