Everyone is born into this world to be a hero in our everyday life. Not all of us were born to be a king or a queen. But each and every one of us can be a hero in our own ordinary life.
An everyday act of heroism in my life
So why is it that we should be a hero and how do we become heroes? Today I was flying out of California. I had a seven am flight but thought it was a nine am flight. When I printed out my tickets, I realized it was at seven. The time was now 6:27am. I was 10 minutes from the airport. I was convinced that I was going to miss my flight. However, I was still going to try and make it. I got through security quickly and then saw a very long line. If you fly much, you will know that everyone is in a hurry to get through security. I was very uncomfortable asking others to let me get in front of the line, but I did, or I would certainly not make the flight. When I asked the first person to let me in front because my flight was leaving in less than twenty minutes, others heard that and more than twenty people offered to let me in front of the line. If that had not happened, I would have missed my flight. So my point here is that they were all heroes to me that day. It was a real act of empathy and kindness.
I have described the world as self-indulged many times. It was this day that made me realize that there are good people out there and many want to be a hero. They just need the chance. In a world of great chaos that we now live in, with the uncertainty of the future. It is so important that we show acts of kindness to as many people as we can for so many reasons. Joseph Stalin was the dictator of the USSR dictator, and renowned enemy of the United States once said about America, “If you want to bring America down, you have to undermine three things. Their spiritual life, their patriotism, and their morality.” Are we there? Well, today we are not, but we are in danger of doing this to ourselves. If there was a time for heroes, now is the time.
We need to teach our children
We need to teach our children what is right and wrong. We need to teach them how to respect others. How to be considerate, how to be polite. How to be heroes. Children learn what’s right and wrong from adults, but especially from their parents. If we don’t treat others with respect and kindness, they will not either. If we don’t speak to our significant others with great respect and treat them with kindness, our children will not either.
For example, I once was at a hotel for a speaking engagement. In the lobby/ restaurant area there were five children from two families. They were running around, tackling each other, jumping down the stairs right next to where many of the hotel guests were sitting and eating. The parents said nothing, nor did they attempt to stop them in any way. This went on for over 30 minutes. This is not only disrespectful to all the other patrons in the hotel, but it was a clear message to their children that their behavior was perfectly acceptable. These children will grow up and have children of their own. The cycle never ends. This is not an isolated situation. I have seen this so many times, and other adults have seen it too.
Missing Superman
I truly miss the original Superman. He stood for “Truth, Justice, and the American way!” Every show started with those words. In the new Justice League movie, Superman stated that he was a man of “truth and justice,” but did not say the American way. We all know why that wasn’t mentioned. One way we can be a hero is not to always be so politically correct. We can set an example to others and especially the children. We can be who we really are and want to be. Want to say Merry Christmas when someone says happy holidays? Then say it! It’s interesting, so many times when someone says happy holidays to me I always reply Merry Christmas. Then so many times they then say back, Merry Christmas with a smile. That tells me they wanted to say wanted to say Merry Christmas but were afraid to because of the possibility of offending me.
We live in America, the Land of the Free and the Home of the Brave. Let’s all of us be heroes in our ordinary life. Unless you are a king or a queen, then you can do more. I am not a hero. I’m just an average person trying to be a good guy and to be a hero to my family and others. You can do the same.