What is an authentic hero to me? We all have our obvious definitions and examples of heroes. Someone who is brave and fearless and risks their lives for people every day, people like fireman and policeman. These people are phenomenal and deserve to be hailed as heroes but to me the character trait that really makes a hero is the tremendous self sacrifice they have to make.
One element that I think is present in all authentic heroes is the willingness to humble themselves and sacrifice for something bigger. Many people think you have to be born brave, and strong, or be bitten by a radioactive spider and get superpowers to be a hero, but that’s not true. We see heroes in single parents who sacrifice to provide for their children. We see heroes in martyrs who sacrificed their lives and endured great pain, not for glory or to be recognized, but to stand up for what they believe in. We see heroes in people who unselfishly put others first, even when they are receiving nothing from it or even may be seen in a negative way. In the latest Batman movie, 'The Dark Night', we see just this. Without giving to much away Batman accepts blame for things he did not do, all so that people would still have hope in Gotham and not give up on it. He would rather have been seen as a villain, even though he was doing so much for the city, then have people give up fighting for Gotham City. Out of all of his powerful gadgets and special abilities, i think this character trait was his most powerful.
Georgio Perlasca was not a Jew; he had no reason to defend these people being persecuted. He was not going to get any great reward for doing what he did, but still he decided this extermination was wrong and he stepped out and risked everything to help. Many times we see ‘heroes’ that have ulterior motives, politicians helping people for the publicity. Perlasca decided he had to do something, when he could have just gone to a neutral country and lived a safe life. He could have been ignorant to everything that was going on around him. A story that I read about Perlasca that really amazed me was one about him standing by the loading dock, watching German soldiers and Hungarian police push long lines of men, women, and children toward cars to be taken to death camps. As described by Commonweal, "Suddenly [Perlasca] rushes forward, grabs two young boys by the collar, drags them back down the platform, and throws them into the back seat of his car." At that point, a German soldier ran over, pulled out his revolver, and motioned to the man to return the boys. Perlasca refused, shouting. "'This car is foreign territory. The boys are under Spanish jurisdiction and you'll be violating international law if you so much as touch them (Myhero.com).'Had Perlasca merely ended with just this incredible fete in his life, he still would be a hero. I am positive that there were others like him who got caught and were killed. The fact that he carried on saving people even after such a close encounter challenges me, and what challenges me even more is the fact that there were definitely many more people like Perlasca, who helped only a few people, or died while trying to help. And while there names may have been forgotten, I like to believe their selfless acts and heroic spirit continues to inspire others.
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