Monday, April 30, 2012

Heroes are ordinary people made heroic by circumstance.


Heroes are ordinary people made heroic by circumstance.
5:10-5:40
In any society there are those citizens who have gone above and beyond the call of civil duty to perform extraordinary feats. These feats can range from saving another citizen from danger or stepping up to forces of oppression in society. Heroes  are usually recognized in terms of circumstance or by civil duty. In most cases both are presents.

First consider a situation in which ordinary citizens were made heroic by circumstance. For example, consider the recent act of heroism by a young teenager in Milton, Washington. It was a normal school day morning when seventh grader, Jeremy Wutschik and Johnny Wood were riding the bus to school. However, suddenly the bus driver suffered a heart attack leaving him in grave condition. As soon as Jeremy and Johnny saw this they jumped in took the wheel preventing any accidents. Jeremy pulled the bus to the side of road and called 911 with the help of his peers on the bus. Both Jeremy and Johnny conducted CPR on the driver and made him conscious but was still in grave condition. No other cars were harmed during this episode on the road, and the Milton police department as well as officials hail him as a hero for his quick thinking and action under circumstantial pressure. Another example of a hero made by circumstance is, Captain Chelsey Sullenberger of the Airbus A320 from LaGuradia Airport to Charlotte Douglas International Airport. In the takeoff taxi, the plane was soon hit by a flock of geese and diabled both engines with the left engine on fire. Captain Sullenberger was very calm under pressure and tried to communicate with Air traffic controllers of available options to return to LaGuardia airport or attempting to land at the Teterboro Airport in New Jersey. However, Sullengerger used drastic action & self initiative, and ditched the plane into the Hudson River to ensure everyone's survival. Hence Jeremy Wutschick and Captain Sullenberger are heroes made by circumstance.

In contrast, consider a situation in which ordinary citizens were made heroic not by circumstance, but rather acted as rightful citizens fulfilling civil duty. For example, consider CNN Hero 2010, Narayanan Krishnan. Narayanan Krishnan was a renowned Chef of Taj Hotels group in Bangalore who was given the honor of going to Switzerland to start his own professional career. However before leaving, Krishnan stopped at his native village. There he witnessed horrific signs of poverty and people suffering from hunger. After seeing this, his life destiny changed forever from the potential of world renowned chef to a civilian who helped take care of the mentally ill and decapitated people on the streets of Madurai, India. Afterwards he tried to expand his interests by establishing the Akshaya trust which literally means indestructible. The Akshaya trust is a non-profit organization which helps take care of biological needs of those mentally destitute, neglected elderly citizens from families and the unfortunate children. Daily he prepares 3 meals daily to serve 400-500 of these unfortunate citizens. He also carries multiple grooming kits along with soap and shampoo to help take care of them. Thus Narayanan Krishnan is a hero made by civil duty and self initiative.

In all an ordinary citizen becoming a hero depends on the scenario. A hero such as Sullenberger and Jeremy Wutschick are made by acting promptly under pressure due to circumstance. However ordinary citizens such as Narayanan Krishnan are also heroes by acting as good citizens to help the underserved and neglected citizens in society.

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