Pullman herald. [volume] (Pullman, W.T. [Wash.]) 1888-1989, 1894-01-12
THE HERO OF TODAY.
ELEMENTS OF CHARACTER WHICH
RAISE MAN TO THE FORE.

Men She Honors-Courago Is Not the
ONLY Quality Requisite In a Hero.
r. ia a truth which has not yet come to
~ frIlv realized that much of the char
Do+or Of an individual depends upon his
IDEAS of heroism. What he admires and
bonors is a good test of what he is, or
rother what he longs to be, and his heroes
-vill always have strong attractive
s,.ce which will draw him as far as pos
.ibIe into their sphere. In all the various
+,,nes of the hero one quality remains
forever prominent-courage. The can
n;bal who has distinguished himself by
.ho number of his murders, the robber
cbieftain who had held thousands at bay,
tbe Indian with his belt adorned with
scalps the duelist who holds his life
,.hoaner than his fancied honor, have all
IN times past been regarded as heroes,
and whatever estimate they now receive
no one denies their courage.
Equally so. the martyr who goes cheer
f,lIv TO the stake; the man who braves
ohIoouy aud contempt for truth as he
holds if: he who risks his life to save an
other or devotes it unreservedly to the
oood of mankind one who can bear and
endnre and another who can dare and
do, all are. in turn, heroes to those who
anpreciate them, and all are distin-
puished by the same element-courage
Whatever be the virtue or the vice; what
ever the cause engaged in; whatever the
motives which govern the life-no one
4 IN
thought, unless in some way he has shown
strength and bravery. Cowardice and
weakness. pusillanimity and fear, are op
nosed in their very essence to all hero.
ism. and no merits, however great, can
form connecting link between them.
The mistake, however, which has long
heen made, and which we are only be-
ginning to correct, is that courage alone
can make a hero. To some extent we
have given up this notion. Our present
heroes are no longer cannibals or rob
bers or duelists, however courageous
such men may have been. We have
come to admit that something else must
be united to bravery to create herolsm.
And what is that something else? Is 1t
not some noble purpose outside of self
and its interests. The glad and willing
sacrifice for something higher than
pleasure or interest, comfort or ease.
united to the courage which scorns all
mean temptations and persists in the
truth and right. as far as it is seen, spite
of all obstacles-that is the true heroism
which we are vaguely seeking and be-
ginning to appreciate.
The prizefghter may be bold and in
trepid in giving and receiving blows;
but, except to few like himself, he has
ceased to be hero, for his purposes are
low and selfish. The suicide may have
the courage to throw away his life, but
he has not that heroic courage which
lives on, enduring, hoping and working,
in spite of all the adverse circumstances
of his lot. The great conquerors OF tn,
world who have plunged their nations
into cruel wars for the sake OF their own
glory and ACKNOWLEDGEMENT were pre-emi-
nently the heroes of past age, but we
are gradually learning that the true hero
of his country is the man who seeks he1
best welfare who defends her rights and
consults her interests, and who for this
great purpose is ready to take praise or
blame, to govern or to fOrbear, to live or
to die. Our own Washington and Lin
coin were men of this stamp, and we are
justly proud to have them head the list
OF our country's heroes.
Not, however, only in public life and
under the gaze of the multitude do we
find the true hero. In the home and in
the schoolroom, in the office and the
workshop, in the crowded street and
open field, he may be discovered by
those who can appreciate what herolsm
really is. Whoever has a high and
worthy purpose at heart, whether OF
truth or duty or love, and also has the
strength and courage to work, to sacrl-
fee and to suffer, if need be, for its sake
is worthy of the name.
One quietly denies himself pleasure OF
comfort or ease for the aged parent OF
the sick child Another gives up cher
ished plans because they would interfere
with the claims Of dependent family
One faces the displeasure of friends and
society sooner than forsake his principles
another employs all his power in defense
of the weak and against the oppressor
Our hero must be strong and brave, but
he must also be magnanimous and un
selfish, not counting the cost, in his great
desire to further his noble purpose.
Such men and women are always
among us, but in the retirement Of pri
Vate life they are inevitably known but
to few. Those few, however, should
esteem it their privilege and duty tc
honor such true heroism, and to extend
Its influence, Especially should the
young be taught to recognize and revere
1t. 1t should be an important part OF
the education of every child to form
within him a true and worthy concep
ton Of heroism, and to enable him tC
recognize it wherever it exists.
Too often his only idea of it is found
In the sensational romance, or i'll the ex
amples around him of men who, fol
OrH1Sl or ola, do 10 No