Heroism is Alive and Well in America

There are many adversities happening all around us. The daily news is filled with disasters or tragedies that are happening all over world. Technology now links us together, making the world seem ever so small. We can empathize or even pray for those going through the difficult times, which is admirable, but a disaster can also be looked on as an opportunity to serve.

The earthquake that devastated Haiti on January 12, 2010 was one of those opportunities. Many people seized the moment and got involved. Most gave monetary gifts to charitable organizations, which provided help for immediate needs of Haitian survivors. Some gave of their time and talents to help in the emergency.

I am reminded of a news broadcast that I recently viewed from ABC’s Good Morning America, about the sacrifice of a medical student from the University of Miami. Elizabeth Greig spent time running a field hospital in Port-au-Prince, shortly after the earthquake struck Haiti. Seven months before, Greig, a fourth year medical student, helped create a plan to get doctors into Haiti in the event of a natural disaster. At the time the plans were developing, she was unaware how quickly this plan would be implemented. This medical student gave of her time and talent to help those devastated by disaster, at a time which was inconvenient in her life. She needed to be planning her wedding. As she worked at the field hospital, her mother and groom planned the wedding without her. Meanwhile, Liz Greig worked tirelessly as there were more hurting people than resources to provide help.

Elizabeth Greig is a true life hero. Her character was defined by her decision to put the needs of the injured earthquake survivors, before her own personal interests. Liz had every right to stay home and enjoy the days before her wedding; instead, her moral fiber drove her to love and care for the sick and dying.

Another great example of character being defined by tragic events occurred earlier this week. On Feb. 22, 2010 an estranged gunman opened fired and wounded two students outside a Littleton, CO school. A math teacher by the name of David Benke, heard a shot fired and instead of running for cover, instinctively ran toward the shooter. In an ABC interview, David stated that after recognizing the weapon was a bolt action rifle, he figured that he would be able to try to stop the shooter before he could reload. Taking the risk of his own personal safety, the math teacher stepped in and attempted to intervene. He stated that the thing that really bothered him was that he was unable to stop the gunman before a second shot was fired, which unfortunately hit a former student of his. Humbly, David stated, that he was simply doing his job to protect his students from danger. "If something happens and there's something that I can do about it, I want to try and do something about it".

David Benke is another true life hero. He instinctively put others first, while taking personal risk to protect and save innocent students. David had every right to run for cover, instead, his moral fiber drove him to save and protect those around him.

The world needs more people like Elizabeth and David. It is comforting to know that there are those in our society who are willing to put others before themselves. I believe that we all have opportunities in our communities that will make us a hero to someone else. We don’t have to wait for a disaster to happen before getting involved and taking action. I encourage each of you to be someone’s hero and make the world a better place to live.