Heroes among us

1 Who's a hero these days? In an era of heightened heroism the word hero has become more common. We use hero to describe both victims and survivors of all kinds of difficulties and tragedies. Who are the heroes among us?

2 In the days subsequent to a mass shooting in Tucson Arizona many described 20-yearold political associate Daniel Hernandez as a hero. During the horrible shooting he courageously ran through the danger to save the life of one of the victims his boss and friend congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords. Daniel held her head up so she could breathe and applied pressure to her wounds. He spoke tender words of sympathy telling her that he would find her husband and her parents and that everything would be fine. And he never left her side staying beside her in the ambulance all the way to the hospital.

3 Another hero from the mass shooting in Tucson was Dory Stoddard. Dory gave his life for his wife Mavy. Dory and his wife had been friends since childhood and when Dory heard shots ring out he immediately fell on top of his wife to shield her from the hail of bullets. At the memorial service the priest said: "Dory didn't die a hero; he lived a hero." Long known for his remarkable spirit and love of humanity Dory Stoddard died as he had always lived assisting others.

4 These are civilian heroes who acted instinctively with courage and grace when caught up in extraordinary circumstances.

5 But what about first responders whose job is in the words of the widow of a fallen police officer to "rush toward danger"?

6 In Toronto Canada downtown life stopped when more than 11000 police and other emergency responders marched solemnly through the streets to honor Sergeant Ryan Russell a 35-year-old "good man and good cop" who believed deeply in his commitment to protect and serve. Sgt. Russell moved quickly to protect others from harm. He tried to stop a drunk driver in a stolen snowplow with only his police automobile and his goodwill to help others. Sadly Sgt. Russell was unable to stop the drunk driver and was killed in the effort.

7 It used to be that the word hero was reserved for those who performed acts of distinct courage beyond the call of duty. A soldier who runs through gunfire to rescue other military personnel is seen as a hero. So are larger-than-life leaders such as Nelson Mandela who emerged after 27 years of jail confined in a solitary chamber. He made the choice not to be bitter and worked hard as South Africa's first black president to establish harmony and helped society reconcile its conflicted past.

8 But today our heroes are average men and women "everyday heroes" to whom we can relate people like us.

9 However while many people honor Sgt. Russell some people raise this question when they try to make sense of a tragedy like Sgt. Russell's: "Some first responders do not succeed in helping others and they get injured or die in their efforts. Do these people become heroes because of what happens to them as they try to help others  instead of what they actually make happen?"

10 I asked road safety advocate Eleanor McMahon whether she thought Sgt. Russell was a hero. Ms. McMahon's late husband a police officer was killed by a drunk truck driver in a 2006 off-duty bicycling accident. Through grief and rage Ms. McMahon founded Share the Road a cycling association and worked tirelessly until the government established "Greg's Law" legislation that gave authority to police to immediately seize the automobiles of drunk drivers caught on the road.

11 Ms. McMahon replied that she thought Sgt. Russell was indeed a hero. "Just imagine in the middle of an intense snowstorm this policeman thinks: I've got to stop this snowplow before it hurts others." Ms. McMahon summed up why she considered many police officers to be heroes: "It's natural to be afraid of danger. It's natural for that fear to cause most people to rush toward safety and away from danger. Heroes do just the opposite. They rush toward danger to help those in need."

12 We count on first responders to rush toward danger especially when it involves us or those we love. We expect nothing less. So when one of them dies doing that we should recognize the heroic action even though we may doubt our own capacity to be heroic ourselves.

13 The inspiring stories of heroes help remind us that ordinary people can do extraordinary things whether it is in the fulfillment of their duties or as part of everyday life. We honor the fireman the policeman and the average citizen by recognizing their heroism. Perhaps even more importantly we honor them by working to change the circumstances that led to their death. By honoring them we can be inspired by them. Will we be heroes when circumstances call on us to act heroically? Hopefully we will!

我们身边的英雄

谁是当今的英雄？在一个英雄主义发扬光大的时代，“英雄”一词已经变得更加常见。我们把各种困难和悲剧的受害者和幸存者都称为“英雄”。那么，我们身边哪些人是英雄呢？

在亚利桑那州图森市枪击案发生后的日子里，许多人都把20岁的政界同事丹尼尔·赫尔南德兹描述为英雄。在骇人的枪击案发生时，他勇敢地冒着危险，去救助受害者之一、也是他的上司和朋友的加布里埃尔·吉福德议员。丹尼尔把她的头托高，便于她呼吸，并用力摁住她的伤口。他用温柔体贴的话语安慰她，告诉她他会把她的丈夫和父母找来，告诉她一切都会好的。而且，他一直守护在她身边，在去医院的路上，他也一直在救护车里陪伴在她身旁。

图森枪击事件中的另一位英雄是多利·斯托达德。多利为保护妻子梅维献出了自己的生命。多利和他的妻子自小青梅竹马。一听到枪声，多利马上扑在妻子身上为她挡住扫射过来的子弹。在葬礼仪式上，牧师说道：“多利一生英雄，非死才为英雄。”多利·斯托达德一直以来以精神高尚、富有爱心而为大家所熟知，他至死也同他生前一样在帮助他人。

这些都是平民英雄。他们在特别危急的情况下，本能地做出勇敢而高尚的举动。

但是，那些应急救援人员是否也算是英雄呢？用一位已故警官遗孀的话来说，他们的工作就是“迎着危险上”。

在加拿大多伦多市，11,000多名警察和其他应急救援人员肃穆地在大街上游行，纪念一位具有高度保护和服务意识的“好男人和好警察”、35岁的瑞安·罗素警佐。当时整个市中心的其他活动都停止了。罗素警佐迅速采取行动，保护他人免受伤害。他仅凭着一辆警车和一颗帮助他人的善良的心，试图挡住一辆醉驾司机驾驶的偷来的扫雪车。不幸的是，他没能拦住醉驾司机，不幸牺牲。

在过去，“英雄”一词仅限于称呼那些做出超乎职责范围的特别英勇的行为的人们。一位战士冒着枪林弹雨去抢救其他战友，他被看作英雄。同样，超凡卓越的具有传奇色彩的领袖人物也是英雄，比如纳尔逊·曼德拉。被囚禁于单人牢房27年后，曼德拉终于摆脱了牢狱生活。他没有抱怨，作为南非的第一位黑人总统，他努力奋斗，致力于创建和谐国家，促进社会化解以往的矛盾。

但是今天，我们的英雄是平凡的男男女女，他们是我们看得见、摸得着的“平民英雄”，是和我们一样的普通人。

虽然很多人尊重罗素警佐，但有些人在试图理解像罗素警佐这样的悲剧时提出了一个问题：“有些应急救援人员在帮助他人时没能获得成功，而自己却受伤或牺牲了。这些人不是因为他们成功帮助了别人，而是因为他们在帮助别人时所遭遇的不幸才成为英雄的吗？”

我问道路交通安全倡导者埃莉诺·麦克玛农，她是否认为罗素警官是位英雄。麦克玛农女士的已故丈夫曾是一名警官，2006年的一天，他未当班，却在骑车时因一名醉驾卡车司机肇事而丧生。在悲伤和愤怒中，麦克玛农女士创立了“道路共享单车联合会”，一个自行车协会。她不懈地努力，直到政府颁布了格雷格法案，授予警察在路上一旦发现醉驾司机就当场予以扣留车辆的权力。

麦克玛农女士回答说，她认为罗素警官确实是英雄。“想象一下，在狂风暴雪中，这位警官想道：我必须挡住这辆扫雪车，不让它伤及他人。”麦克玛农女士概括了为什么她认为许多警官都是英雄的原因：“害怕危险是正常的。大多数人因害怕危险而奔向安全之处躲避危险，这也是正常的。而英雄则恰恰相反。他们迎着危险上，为的是帮助需要帮助的人。”

我们指望应急救援人员冲向危险，尤其是当我们或我们所爱的人身处险境时。这正是我们对应急救援人员的期望。所以，当他们中的一位因冲向危险而遭遇不幸时，我们应认可他们的英勇行为，哪怕我们可能怀疑自己是否具有这样的勇气。

英雄们激励人心的事迹有助于提醒我们，平凡的人也可以做出不平凡的事，不管是履行职责，还是在日常生活中。我们向消防员、警察和普通平民致敬，赞扬其大无畏的精神。也许，甚至更为重要的是，我们要通过改变让他们遭遇不幸的环境来向他们致敬。通过缅怀他们，我们可以从中得到鼓舞。一旦有情况召唤我们挺身而出时，我们会当英雄吗？但愿我们会！