“The hottest places in hell are reserved for those who, in
times of great moral crisis, maintain their neutrality.”
― Dante Alighieri, Inferno
― Dante Alighieri, Inferno
One of the
marvellous and exciting things about the English language is its malleability,
the way that words are minted, used, stretched and changed to allow us to
communicate ideas. Unfortunately, this means that some words are stretched to
the point of unrecognizability. “Hero” is one of those words. It is a word that
is used to describe people who are merely victims or who show courage in the
face of adversity. It can be used to describe those who merely do what they
should be doing, however admirable or brave it might be. Like a sweater that
fit well thirty pounds ago, stretching a word to cover everything that wasn’t
there before results in the original design being lost.
It is time to remember that true heroes have walked among us. April 15th was the birthday of Hugh Thompson Jr., a true hero.
It is time to remember that true heroes have walked among us. April 15th was the birthday of Hugh Thompson Jr., a true hero.
As a Warrant
Officer flying in Vietnam on March 16, 1968, Hugh Thompson and the two crew
members of his helicopter, Specialist Glenn Andreotta and Specialist Lawrence
Colburn, intervened in what is now called the My Lai Massacre, to save the
lives of civilians. A U.S. Army unit was killing indiscriminately during its
operation that day and Thompson, who was flying reconnaissance, seeing dead
children, women, and old men and no weapons, voiced his concern. At one point,
he landed his helicopter to stop troops from attacking a group of civilians,
ordering his crew to fire on the U.S. troops if the troops attacked the villagers.
After rescuing the civilians, he filed an official report. He participated in
Pentagon inquiries when the scandal broke and also testified for the House
Armed Services Committee. As he became known to the public, he received hate
mail and death threats.
Dr. Philip Zambardo, a psychologist who studies the nature of heroic action, has identified what constitutes heroism:
Dr. Philip Zambardo, a psychologist who studies the nature of heroic action, has identified what constitutes heroism:
Simply put, then, the key to heroism is a concern for other people in need—a concern to defend a moral cause, knowing there is a personal risk, done without expectation of reward.
Thompson exhibited
true heroism on that day, recognizing that, even in war, there is a line that
should not be crossed, actions that are impossible to justify. He had nothing
to gain from his action and much to lose. He did what needed to be done because
it was right and he was there. He would not stand by. He was haunted by what happened
until he died in 2006, but how much worse could things have been had he not
intervened?
Thank goodness there are heroes among us. Thank goodness the word still has meaning.
Further information:
Photo: Public Domain
Thank goodness there are heroes among us. Thank goodness the word still has meaning.
Further information:
Hugh Thompson talks about My Lai
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