Five books to celebrate modern day heroes and heroines

Let us start this week’s column with a profound quote by Tennis great, Arthur Ashe.

“True heroism is remarkably sober, very undramatic. It is not the urge to surpass all others at whatever cost but the urge to serve others at whatever cost.”  

True and in relation to that I watched with great joy and warmth in my heart when 22-year-old Mamoudou Gassama received the BET Humanitarian heroes award in the United States along with five other persons last week. Not too long ago he was just an illegal Malian immigrant seeking a better life until he scaled four floors in Paris to rescue a four-year-old boy dangling from a fourth floor balcony. In interviews he has given since then, he has said when he was doing it he did not think of his personal safety, only to save a child. He was black, the little boy was white. It could have been anyone’s four-year-old. After the rescue, he then became afraid and began to shake. The video of that rescue went viral and the French President has rewarded Mamoudou with French citizenship and a job as a firefighter.  He has become an instant hero but note that he did not do that hoping to be compensated. Just a spontaneous act of a man who wanted to save a child. 

Heroes are a special breed who make us all proud, wash us in admiration and, touch our hearts and make us reconsider our view of the world. In world renowned psychologist Phillip Zimbardo’s TED Talk in 2011 titled, “What makes a hero”, he concludes that “Simply put, then, the key to heroism is a concern for other people in need- a concern to defend a moral cause. Another psychologist, Frank Farley says there are various acts of heroism, some are grand like saving other people’s lives and some are smaller everyday acts designed to help another human being in need. He describes them as the big H heroism and the small H heroism.  I read recently that some high school kids in the US are being taught how to develop altruistic principles and skills and not to have the “by stander effect” where you think someone else will rescue or even the conformity theory where you follow others to do nothing when help is required. Way to go!  Whether big or small heroism, whichever it is, today’s world is in need of heroes who are selfless and are ready to assist wherever they find themselves. As complicated and bizarre and seemingly evil as the world is today, there are many persons still making those sacrifices to make the world a better place. These are the heroes and heroines to whom we turn our attention today. This collection is to celebrate heroes big and small.

1) What makes a hero? by Elizabeth Svoboda

 The surprising science of selflessness by Elizabeth Svoboda. This book is the go to book for how to cultivate your inner hero. As science goes it is in our biology to try to help people in need and the small altruistic things we do according to the author builds our “altruism muscle” and helps us to be mentally ready for bigger heroic assignments. This book also celebrates the slow and steady altruists who are quiet heroes, the ones that often go unrecognized and urges us to practice these small acts of heroism. According to the author, the motivation for big or small heroism is the same, enriching someone else’s life at personal expense big or small without seeking a physical reward or recompense but she also reminds us that there are reward systems in our brains that light up when we perform a heroic act and this makes us truly happy.  A truly enriching book.

2) The Little Prince by Antoine de saint Exupery

This slim volume book is widely read and such an inspiration. The hero in the book is a little boy who saves the narrator who has crashed his plane in the Sahara Desert.  A truly warm book about selflessness and assistance.

3)The Color Purple by Alice Walker