The Adventure of the Real Life Heroes
I was recently asked whether I prefer Superman or Spider-Man. The question was randomly pulled from a set of questions designed to elicit some talk from children and as an adult in the classroom I too had to answer the question. Being a huge superhero fan I had no trouble formulating a rely and could have probably written a lecture on the question had I been required.
The answer is clearly Spider-Man. The definition of "hero" is usually something along the lines of "a person who is admired for having done something very brave". The big issue with Superman is that he is basically a god and unless you happen to have some kryptonite around is pretty much indestructible. It therefore means Superman doesn't need to have any courage to save people. Spider-Man on the other hand is basically just strong and sticky and is outgunned in virtually every conflict he finds himself in. Spidey needs real courage to put on his mask and take on impossible odds and that's what makes him a true hero.
Of course, there are heroes here in the real world too. What do you do when a brain-washed extremist starts stabbing people? You could just run away. No-one would blame you and it's a basic human instinct to run from danger. You could however grab a narwhal horn that's hanging on the wall and take on the assailant. Several members of the public showed real courage when they tackled the terrorist at London Bridge this week. The terrorist wanted the nation to be talking about his terrible actions yet instead the conversation amongst the public is about the heroes with the unlikely weapons that stood up to him.
Heroes don't always have to use physical actions either. Yesterday I watched a film called The Report (newly dropped on Amazon) which tells the true story of how Daniel J. Jones wrote a report on the CIA's 'enhanced interrogation' program following 9/11. The secret service tortured 119 people horrifically and failed to gain any intelligence from it. Jones worked tirelessly so that this report would be released and faced growing resistance from political parties and was even accused of hacking by the CIA. Along with Senator Feinstein, Jones never gave up and had the courage to ensure that the public learnt about the terrible actions committed in the name of the United States.
There's one hero I've wanted to talk about here for ages but have never found the right excuse, Greta Thunberg. The sixteen year old Swede was so furious that so little is being done to tackle climate change that she started a global movement of school strikes and now travels the world on carbon-free yachts to deliver incredible speeches to encourage people and governments to do more. Thunberg has Asperger's and selective mutism and the idea that someone can overcome those barriers to address the most important issue is inspiring. The courage it must take for Thunberg to step onto the world stage and do battle with the likes of Donald Trump is so huge. Thunberg is the hero the 21st century needs.
Of course, not all heroes are famous. Indeed, every day there are police officers and firefighters and paramedics and nurses and endless people working for very little money to make people's lives better. They do it because it needs doing despite the huge challenges and lack of financial support that their jobs bring.
I find all these heroes inspiring. They inspire me to step up, whether it requires a narwhal horn or otherwise, to have the courage to do the right thing and make people's lives better whenever the need arises.
The answer is clearly Spider-Man. The definition of "hero" is usually something along the lines of "a person who is admired for having done something very brave". The big issue with Superman is that he is basically a god and unless you happen to have some kryptonite around is pretty much indestructible. It therefore means Superman doesn't need to have any courage to save people. Spider-Man on the other hand is basically just strong and sticky and is outgunned in virtually every conflict he finds himself in. Spidey needs real courage to put on his mask and take on impossible odds and that's what makes him a true hero.
Of course, there are heroes here in the real world too. What do you do when a brain-washed extremist starts stabbing people? You could just run away. No-one would blame you and it's a basic human instinct to run from danger. You could however grab a narwhal horn that's hanging on the wall and take on the assailant. Several members of the public showed real courage when they tackled the terrorist at London Bridge this week. The terrorist wanted the nation to be talking about his terrible actions yet instead the conversation amongst the public is about the heroes with the unlikely weapons that stood up to him.
Heroes don't always have to use physical actions either. Yesterday I watched a film called The Report (newly dropped on Amazon) which tells the true story of how Daniel J. Jones wrote a report on the CIA's 'enhanced interrogation' program following 9/11. The secret service tortured 119 people horrifically and failed to gain any intelligence from it. Jones worked tirelessly so that this report would be released and faced growing resistance from political parties and was even accused of hacking by the CIA. Along with Senator Feinstein, Jones never gave up and had the courage to ensure that the public learnt about the terrible actions committed in the name of the United States.
There's one hero I've wanted to talk about here for ages but have never found the right excuse, Greta Thunberg. The sixteen year old Swede was so furious that so little is being done to tackle climate change that she started a global movement of school strikes and now travels the world on carbon-free yachts to deliver incredible speeches to encourage people and governments to do more. Thunberg has Asperger's and selective mutism and the idea that someone can overcome those barriers to address the most important issue is inspiring. The courage it must take for Thunberg to step onto the world stage and do battle with the likes of Donald Trump is so huge. Thunberg is the hero the 21st century needs.
Of course, not all heroes are famous. Indeed, every day there are police officers and firefighters and paramedics and nurses and endless people working for very little money to make people's lives better. They do it because it needs doing despite the huge challenges and lack of financial support that their jobs bring.
I find all these heroes inspiring. They inspire me to step up, whether it requires a narwhal horn or otherwise, to have the courage to do the right thing and make people's lives better whenever the need arises.
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