Heroes Are Hard to Find by Peter Reum

When the idea of what makes a hero comes up in conversation, the individuals that we honor with that label are few. What makes a hero? It's different for everyone. As a nation, we tend to honor individuals who have either distinguished themselves in wartime, or who have given their life that others may live. As individuals, the idea becomes all the more complicated. Parents are often heroes, as are other family members. Sometimes we lift up a person who has had a transformational effect on our lives, those around us, or society as a whole. Presidents who served during our lives come up, parents or older siblings, and perhaps someone whose life was distinguished by being a pioneer in their vocation tend to rise to hero status.

When our heroes show their flaws, we can either accept their humanity and the mistakes they have made, reject them out of hand, or choose to realize that all humans have flaws that come out during hard times in their lives. For example, a flaw that John and Robert Kennedy had, and perhaps also Martin Luther King, was a roving extramarital eye. Does this demonstrate a character flaw that would tarnish their status as persons whose lives brought important change to our nation? Perhaps, but their accomplishments stand as courageous and transformational nonetheless. Did their flaws hinder their important duties in public service and advocacy? In my opinion, they did not.

If we have ever stopped to consider the people you consider to be heroes, what traits and actions they showed in their lives are important and somewhat a reflection of our own life experiences. Let me share a few of the people I consider to be heroes of mine, and perhaps this exercise will help you identify the values of yours that you consider to be an important part of your outlook on humanity.

One spiritual hero of mine whose humanity shined brightly during his life would be Mohandas "Mahatma" Gandhi. Many people today don't know who he was or what he stood against, colonial exploitation and unfair caste rules. Trained as a lawyer, his spiritual orientation of passive resistance to colonialism made him a hero in the liberation of India and Pakistan, and their becoming independent nations. It was his adoption of nonviolence that inspired Martin Luther King to change Jim Crow segregation laws in the USA in the Fifties and Sixties. Like Martin Luther King, he became a martyr to an assassin.

Gandhi

From the world of sports, I have always loved professional basketball. Specifically, the Los Angeles Lakers have always been my favorite NBA team. Before they had outstanding centers like Wilt Chamberlin, Kareem Abdul Jabbar, and Shaquille O'Neal, two guys played for the Lakers that distinguished themselves as one of the greatest of all-time at their respective positions. Elgin Baylor was a 6'5" forward for the Lakers whose rebounding and scoring abilities went far above his peers. He played with injuries in the last part of his career, but was still outstanding. Jerry West was a guard who possessed the offensive and defensive finesse that a Basketball Hall of Famer should have. He complemented Elgin Baylor and later, Wilt Chamberlain in making the Lakers a force to be reckoned with for many years.

Elgin Baylor

Jerry West

Having worked in the field of mental and physical disability services for many years, I have to mention the father of the disability rights movement and the defining force behind the Americans With Disabilities Act, Ed Roberts. I had the good fortune to meet Ed at a late Eighties conference on integration of people with Disabilities into society, and later had the chance to use some of his strategies on integration with a member of my own family. His position of honor among people with disabilities and disability rights is comparable to that of Martin Luther King among African Americans. He founded the World Institute on Disability, which is a leader in the developed and developing nations  in the field of disability rights.

Ed Roberts at left with peers

Finally for music... To those of you who know me personally, it will come as no surprise that my two favorites musicians are Brian Wilson and Lowell George. Both of these guys showed exceptional ability in songwriting, arranging, studio production, and performance. Lowell passed in 1979, and it can only be guessed as to what the years  that have passed would have shown in his creative efforts. Lowell in some ways was almost an anti-hero, in that musical integrity was his strength, and he did not bend to commercial demands in his work. Brian Wilson's story is a little different. In the early and middle Sixties, his work was pioneering and flawless...so much so that his recordings with The Beach Boys sound amazingly clear even on today's stereo systems. After a period of mental health issues which deterred him from writing  or performing, he has returned to finish his magnum opus, Smile, and to perform exceptionally well with what must be one of the best bands today. Brian has become an advocate for Mental Health, and has given interviews in which he explains how his form of mental illness manifests itself and what he does to minimize it's disruption of his life.

Lowell George

 Brian Wilson

That's it for me....I have other heroes, but these guys have had an influence on my life that is ongoing and productive. I hope that you can find a hero or two, Life is sweeter with heroes.