What is a HERO?

Anglo-Saxon war society was based on an ancient Viking heroic code. This code implied a set of values which stressed on the valor of an individual. Society concentrated on a strong, enterprising leader (the hero) and his followers, the warrior elite. The hero and his followers are called the fellowship (think of the fellowship in 'The Lord of the Rings'). The hero's motivation is to get fame and immortality in legend. The motivation for a follower is personal loyalty to his leader, this would bring him fame.

 

The leader had to the bravest in battle, otherwise he would lose credibility. The followers were expected to be almost as brave as their leader and to be loyal to the death. If the leader was killed in battle, a follower was supposed to fight to his death. If a follower left a battlefield after his leader had fallen, this was considered an act of cowardice and would lead to long-life shame.

Anglo-Saxon Heroic Code

Beowulf Byrhtnoth

Anglo-Saxon Heroes

Abraham Lincoln

Bob Carey

Chief Joseph

Dogs

Gordon B. Hinckley

Mahatma Gandhi

Marie Curie

Marisol Valles Garcia

Martin Luther King Jr.

Mother Teresa

Pope John Paul II

Dad

My Wall of Heroes

To return to this page, click on the picture of the hero.

Just one example:

In 2009, a 14-year old mother abandoned her

newborn baby in a field in Argentina. It was winter

in Argentina and the temperature at night can get

below 40° F. An eight-year old dog named La China

found the baby, brought her home and nestled her

among her litter of puppies, saving the infant’s life.

The baby’s cries were heard by the dog’s owner

hours later. He called the police, and the baby was

taken to a local hospital. The infant had some

bruises, but was otherwise healthy.

--http://art2u.com/critterblog/?p=550

Dogs

Sometimes I really wish all men were dogs. –me.

Carey loved the craziness of photographing himself

in a pink tutu and never really took the idea

seriously. However when his wife was diagnosed with

breast cancer he felt that the project was just what

they needed to keep their spirits up as she fought

the disease. Carey’s wife beat the cancer, only to

have it recur a couple of years later. Carey says

“Oddly enough, her cancer has taught us that life is

good, dealing with it can be hard, and sometimes the

very best thing—no, the only thing—we can do to

face another day is to laugh at ourselves, and share

a laugh with others.” Funds from his photos are

donated to support breast cancer awareness and

research.--http://thetutuproject.com/

Bob Carey

“Sometimes the very best thing—no, the only thing—we can do to face another day is to laugh at ourselves, and

share a laugh with others.”

At just 20 years old, Marisol Valles Garcia

voluntarily accepted the job of chief of police in

Praxedis Guadalupe Guerrero, a Mexican town

bordering Texas. Her predecessor's head was left

in front of the station a few days after he was

kidnapped. By that time, a fifth of the town’s

population had fled a wave of killings and

burnings that have made it one of the most

violent places on Earth. After just one year as

chief of police, Garcia fled to the United States

and sought political asylum in order to keep her

husband and baby safe.

Marisol Valles Garcia

"We're all afraid in Mexico now. We can't let fear beat us."

Despite his humble upbringing and a lifelong

battle against major depression, Lincoln rose

to greatness as “The Great Emancipator.” He

did not originally set out to gain the American

Presidency as a part of his political career, but

Lincoln’s conviction that slavery was immoral

and destructive to the nation eventually won

him the job. Lincoln is credited with

emancipating the slaves and sending them on

the path to full equality as citizens of the

United States. He was assassinated just days

after the Civil War ended.

Abraham Lincoln

“A house divided against itself cannot stand.”

Mahatma Gandhi devoted most of his adult

life to non-violent protest against racial

and political injustice. He was imprisoned

several times due to civil disobedience to

unfair laws. He is credited with bringing

racism to light in South Africa, as well as

ending British rule in India. Many civil

rights leaders, including Martin Luther King

Jr., have used Gandhi's concept of non-

violent protest as a model for their own

fights for freedom from oppression.

Mahatma Ghandi

“A 'No' uttered from the deepest conviction is better than a 'Yes' merely uttered to please, or

worse, to avoid trouble.”

Like Ghandi, Martin Luther King Jr. was a civil rights

activist for most of his adult life. His efforts led to

the 1963 March on Washington, where he delivered

his "I Have a Dream" speech. The speech

established his reputation as one of the greatest

public speakers in American history. King was the

youngest person to receive the Nobel Peace

Prize for his work to end racial segregation and 

discrimination through civil disobedience and other

nonviolent means. After his assassination, King

was posthumously awarded the Presidential Medal

of Freedom and Congressional Gold Medal of Honor.

Martin Luther King Jr.

“Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only

love can do that.”

Marie Curie is best known as the discoverer of

the radioactive elements polonium and radium

and was the first person to win two Nobel prizes.

Her work not only influenced the development of

fundamental science but also ushered in a new

era in medical research and treatment. Despite

laws against the education of women in Poland,

she had a brilliant aptitude for study and a great

thirst for knowledge. Curie never gave up her

dream, and through hard work and determination

she was finally able to leave Poland to continue

her education.

Marie Sklodowska Curie

“Nothing in life is to be feared, it is only to be understood. Now is the time to understand more, so

that we may fear less.”

Pope John Paul II was acclaimed as one of the

most influential leaders of the 20th century.

John Paul II was instrumental in ending

communism in his native Poland and

eventually all of Europe.  He significantly

improved the Catholic Church's relations with

Judaism, Islam, the Eastern Orthodox Church,

and the Anglican Communion. Though

criticized by progressives for upholding Church

teachings, he was also widely praised for his

firm, orthodox Catholic stances.

Pope John Paul II

“The future starts today, not tomorrow.”

Chief Joseph, known by his people as In-mut-too-yah-lat-lat

(Thunder coming up over the land from the water), was best

known for his resistance to the U.S. Government's attempts to

force his tribe onto reservations. The Nez Perce were a

peaceful nation; and the tribe had maintained good relations

with the whites after the Lewis and Clark expedition. Chief

Joseph's father, Old Joseph, signed a treaty with the U.S. that

allowed his people to retain much of their traditional lands. Not

long after, another treaty was created that severely reduced

the amount of land, but Old Joseph maintained that this second

treaty was never agreed to by his people. A showdown over

the second "non-treaty" came when Chief Joseph assumed his

role as Chief. Chief Joseph tried every possible appeal to the

government to return the Nez Perce to the land of their

ancestors. Despite his efforts, he was sent to a reservation in

Washington where, according to the reservation doctor, he

later died of a broken heart.

Chief Joseph

“It does not require many words to speak the truth.”

Mother Teresa was born Agnes Gonxha Bojaxhiu in

Skopje, Macedonia. When she was just twelve, she felt

the calling to become a missionary to spread the love

of Christ. At the age of eighteen she left her home in

Skopje and joined an Irish community of nuns. After a

few months' training she was sent to India where she

taught at St. Mary's High School in Calcutta. The

suffering and poverty she glimpsed outside the

convent walls made such an impression on her that

she received permission from her superiors to leave

the convent school and devote herself to working

among the poor in the slums of Calcutta. Although she

had no funds, she started an open-air school for slum

children. Soon she was joined by voluntary helpers,

and money began coming in. Mother Teresa devoted

the rest of her life to the poorest of poor and neediest

of needy.

Mother Teresa of Calcutta

“Let us always meet each other with smile, for the smile is the beginning of

love.”

Gordon B. Hinckley’s whole life was devoted to

service to God’s children—those he recognized as his

own brothers and sisters. He recognized the necessity

for individual choice and accountability while reaching

out in love, and without judgment, to others who lived

alternate lifestyles. Hinckley was well aware of the

problems that radical patriarchal ideals can cause in

marriages, and vociferously reprimanded priesthood

leaders for hiding abusive behavior at home. Before

he died, Hinckley was awarded the Presidential Medal

of Freedom for his many efforts to provide

humanitarian assistance and education to

impoverished people around the world.

Gordon B. Hinckley

"People wonder what we do for our women. I'll tell you what we do. We get out of their way and look with wonder at what

they're accomplishing."

In my dad’s early years, he endured life-threatening

beatings from a drunken alcoholic father. When Dad

was eleven years old, his mother fled for her life

from New York to Nevada, taking her four children

with her. They never saw my grandfather again. Dad

learned how to take care of himself through Boy

Scouts, and later contributed to the family’s income

by lying about his age and becoming a fire-fighter at

sixteen. Mom made him give up smoke-jumping

when she married him. Dad is also a Marine veteran

of the Vietnam war. Despite his rough upbringing,

Dad has always been loving and gentle with his

children and has never touched alcohol. He is also

the only child in his family to graduate from college.

Dad

“Mom always said you can’t go two ways on a one way street”

Who is your hero?