Thursday; April 23

I know that I am going to upset some people with what I am about to say, but I am going to go ahead and say it ... staying at home does not make us heroes!   The other day when I heard someone advocate that we can act heroically by staying home, it just struck me the wrong way.  Does staying at home make us good neighbors?  Yes!  Can it help save lives?  Probably!  But not doing something isn’t what makes heroes.  Heroes are those who go out of their way to do something extraordinary.  They risk their lives or their reputations to promote something they believe in.  Doing the right thing doesn’t make us heroes – it makes us … right.
There are a couple of reasons for me writing this.  First, I believe that heroism should be reserved for those who have earned it.  Those medical folks who risk their own personal health to treat others, they are heroes.  Those first responders who are willing to risk their lives to protect us from evil and harm, they are heroes.  Those men and women who serve in our armed forces and keep us safe in our homes, they are heroes.  Let’s give them the honor they deserve.
Secondly, when we start to laud common “rightness”, we tend to lower the bar.  If doing the right thing is heroic, that means that it takes extraordinary effort to do the right thing.  Using this logic, if we don’t want to have to put out extra effort to do the right thing, then we are justified if we don’t want to not acting correctly.  I can do less than what is expected and still be seen as okay.
Maybe I am making too much of this; but, let’s choose words carefully.  When we don’t, they merely become words – not truth.
Think About It!

Popular posts from this blog

Tuesday; November 29

The biblical story of the Good Samaritan has changed our world. Notice I didn’t say that it had change religion or even Christianity, it has influenced the world. There are very few people who don’t know the moral of Jesus’ parable about the Good Samaritan. In fact, the phrase has become a common description of everyday people doing good to their neighbors. While Jesus’ parable from Luke 10 shares several spiritual lessons, one of the most practical is that good can be done by anyone. You don’t have to be a church official to do good, it is not only possible for each one of us to help, it is required of all of us. If a Samaritan can be good, so can we! After presenting the parable, Jesus asked the man who had originally asked the question about being a good neighbor which character in the story was a good neighbor, “… he said, ‘The one who showed mercy toward him.’” at which point, the discussion from theoretical to personal, “Then Jesus said to him, ‘Go and do the same.’” (Luke
Read more

Thursday; January 12

The other day I was watching a television show that used a rather common term applied to overcoming challenges. When organizations experience unexpected setbacks – especially when they lose key people – they rely upon the concept of “Next Man Up”. In essence, when our starters (or stars) go down, effective organizations rely upon their next levels to step into the vacancy. While this is an effective response, have we given much thought as to how we prepare to be the “next people up”? First, we must know our job. Even when we aren’t the primary players, we need to be preparing ourselves to be ready when we get the opportunity to shine. Second, we must do our best when we get the chance. Knowledge is important but what turns potential into talent is effort. Yet, maybe the most underappreciated aspect of this concept is a willingness avoid excuse-making and whining about the unfairness of our situation. When we complain about the circumstances that caused the need for replacements
Read more

Monday; September 25

When I was a youngster, I remember hearing about this thing called the Generation Gap. I was a little bit too young to be active in the social movements of the 1960s, but I do remember listening to the challenges the generations were experiencing way back then. Interestingly, now that I have been on both sides of the aging process, I have to admit that the Gap of the 1960s was nothing new. With the development of each generation comes conflict. The young people don’t feel like the older people understand them and the older folks tend to believe their input is being underappreciated. Too often trust is the casualty when two generations collide. The sad thing is that it doesn’t have to be this way. When we can capture the innovation and energy of the younger folks and harness the wisdom of those who have been around for a while we can develop a winning combination. No, we won’t always see things eye-to-eye nor will we necessarily speak the same emotional language, but when we app
Read more