Courage Matters News Today : Breaking News, Live Updates & Top Stories | Vimarsana

The full quote reads, "Courage is not the absence of fear. Courage is the ability to act effectively, in spite of fear."

The late U.S. Sen. John McCain wrote a passage very similar to that in his 2004 book, "Why Courage Matters."

In a sometimes somber, sometimes jovial event Thursday, President Joe Biden bestowed the Presidential Medal of Freedom on 17 Americans - including the late Sen. John McCain and former Rep. Gabrielle Giffords - whom he called "the soul of our nation."

Arizona icons Gabrielle Giffords and the late John McCain were among 17 honorees who will receive the Presidential Medal of Freedom next week, according to an announcement Friday by the Biden administration.

Incredible hard work, and yet that work pales compared to the courage it took to come here today and to tell your story publicly. you could have stayed silent. you could have avoided the scrutiny, the pain -- and i will say watching you testify this morning you could see the pain in each of you sharing that story. but that courage that you've demonstrated by going public, by reporting this abuse, by shining a light, that courage matters, and it's making a difference in the lives of others. the system failed you. what happened to you was grotesque. it was criminal, it was abusive, it was evil. ...