The county record. [volume] (Kingstree, S.C.) 1885-1975, 1908-06-18
EVERYDAY HEROISM.
(Bv Miss Mamie Montgon.e cry J


"Almost from that hour when
the morning stars sang together
and sons of God shouted for joy, as
they gazed upon the new born
earth, living in all its dewy beauty,
fresh from the hands of its Creator.
and heard announced the birth Of
time, men have str ven fol what the
world calls greatness All ages
and nations have had their great
men, their heroes. But We seem to
think that all the hel oeS are of the
dim and distant past; that the Won
derful, the heroic, the glorious and
\ the beautiful in life are to be sought
after and found only in some dis
tant era; that exalted virtue and
greatness CT soul are things to read
about; and that the opportunity to
display and emulate the highly
priced qualities that ennoble and
lift up men and women comes only
to certain favored peoples in roman-
tic ages, remote from the actual,
living present. Are there no sub
lime heights towards which We may
strive w.a.days? Have all of the
opportunities to become heroes pass
ed? No; heroes and heroism are as
plentiful today as ever before. The
present age is just as romantic and
wonderful as any that has preceded
it; and the duties and problems con-
fronting the people of this time and
place are just as true test of cour-
age as were ever presented to the
people of any era of any country in
the worlds history, however entranc-
inglY the gifted historian and ro-
mancer may detail and depict the
situation in the past.
The only thing is that in these
fashy days We fail to recognize and
reward everyday heroism." Mil
lions of heroes die daily without re
ceiving the nations laurels, without
pompous mourning, and with only
the silent dropping of tears over
their graves. But, though they
may not be recognized by the world |
as heroes, they will be by Him who
is the Eternal Judge of Right.
James ellis said: "We can all be
heroes in our virtues, in our home,
in eur lives" Heroism does not
consist in wealth, power, rank or
honor, nor do We find it in the pos
session of superior intellectual en-.
dovments, although any or all of
these may accompany it. But the
worship of wealth, of high-place,
of power, of fashion, of social dis.
tinctieu have all operated TO blind
our eyes to the essential nobility of
the man who quietly goes about his
business, performs his duties of cit
izenship in an unobstrusive way,
pays his taxes honestly, does his
duty and little more, is kind tc
his family, and neighbors, and is
not merely content but glad to keep
out of the worlds gaze. This So
called common man is the true hero,
the burden bearer, on whom We de-
pend in crises. But two often is
he set aside for he'millionaire vul-
garian who lifts his head above the
nllre in which he was bred"
The majority of people, just as
Carlyle did, find their heroes in
great poets, great literary men, in
generals. But the heroism whose
theatre is the battlefield is not of
the highest order. Amid the clash
of bayonets and the hoom of can
non men are melted to deeds of dar-
ing, and are ready to give their
lives for the good of their country.
"Napoleon with dreams of en-
pire fitting through his mighty
brain, could so stir the enthusiasm
of his soldiers that they won
battle after battle until his name
was the most powerful in all Eu-