• America has no heroes left, but heroism is not about being perfect or doing something spectacular.
• It is about regular, flawed human beings choosing to put others before themselves, even at great cost.
• Examples of heroism include General Dwight D. Eisenhower writing a letter praising the troops before D-Day, Anne Frank writing in her diary that she still believes people are good at heart, John Hancock signing the Declaration of Independence, Sitting Bull defending his people’s right to practice a religion he didn’t share, and Rosa Parks sitting down when she was told to stand up.
• On April 3, 1968, the night before he was assassinated, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. gave a speech in support of sanitation workers in Memphis, Tennessee.
• He said that, if God had let him choose any era in which to live, he would have chosen the one in which he had landed, because only when it is dark enough can you see the stars.
• He knew he was in danger as he worked for a racially and economically just America, but he was determined to do God’s will.
• Heroes are all around us, choosing to do the right thing, no matter what.
Published January 16, 2023. Visit Letters from an American to read Heather Cox Richardson’s original post.
