Oops! We had to remove the hero profile you’re looking for because it will soon appear in our new book Heroic Leadership: An Influence Taxonomy of 100 Exceptional Individuals, to be published by Routledge in 2013.
Our contract at Routledge required us to remove many of our profiles on our blog at this time. But we do have other hero profiles and information about heroes on the menu bar located on the right side of this page. Check it out!
In the mean time, please accept our apologies. Here is more information about our new book.
You can click here to return to our HERO home page. And thanks for visiting!
— Scott Allison and George Goethals
You wrote: “One could argue that our greatest heroes are these latter heroes – those who understand full well, after ample deliberation, that their daily actions may be costly to themselves but who plow forward because they know their actions are absolutely essential for the collective well-being.”
These are the heroes we lack today. I looked at a magazine article recently about people in various cities around the country who dress as superheroes and do good deeds for the poor or drug addicted, or homeless, etc. They are doing a good work, and may find themselves in harm’s way on occasion, but – wacky as they may seem – they are still heroes in my book. Martin Luther King, Jr., Mother Theresa, Ghandi…they all sacrificed. I wonder if our iPad generation will follow in the footsteps of those who came before them.
I am praying for the people of Japan and truly hope that their native heroes step up to the plate and stay there until the job is complete. Great post!
It’s incredible enough when somebody makes that split-second, one-time decision to put somebody else’s life and well being ahead of their own, but to make that decision over and over again on a daily basis– or probably an hourly basis– demonstrates the true mettle of a Human being. This is what all people are made of. If more people understood that, the world would be a better place.
I hope that these guys accomplish their goal and that they themselves can be saved, just as they have saved so many others.
This story shows the compassion that defines human nature. It truly warms my heart to hear about the Fukushima workers. Their long term commitment to the welfare of the people of Japan is inspiring. My favorite line of this articles is this one:
“One could argue that our greatest heroes are these latter heroes – those who understand full well, after ample deliberation, that their daily actions may be costly to themselves but who plow forward because they know their actions are absolutely essential for the collective well-being.”
You are right, those are the true heroes. Those who put their life on the line every day for the well bering of others.
They continue to pump millions of gallons of water over the reactor cores and over the spent fuel rods in these various power plants. They have no way of capturing and holding this water that is contaminated and cleaning it before it is going to flow back into the ocean or seep down into the fresh water table there in Japan.
This truly is an amazing story of a great sacrifice to save the lives of countless others. I believe that this long-term form of heroism is much greater as they have had more than enough time to understand the ramifications of their decision. Sacrificing oneself for the greater good is the ultimate form of heroism.
While this story of heroism is incredibly inspiring to read about, it is also somewhat depressing at the same time. It’s amazing to read how these workers are essentially going to die trying to save the lives of millions of people who they don’t even know. The workers know full well what they are doing and the dire consequences that can come from these heroic actions, but they refuse to back away. Even those who have families are essentially giving up their lives to save those of complete strangers. This is an extraordinary act of heroism that exemplifies the truly positive aspects of human nature.
I think loyalty and integrity has long been Japanese’s famous characteristics. The heroic behaviors in the nuclear power plant proved it very well.Facing the danger, they choose to be loyalty to their jobs and their nation.Hero do fear death, but they choose to sacrifice themselves to give all the rest people safety. Overcoming the fear, the obstacle, that’s what make them heroic
This is a great post! Before I read this article, I read the article that you wrote about Marie Curie and her contributions to science; and I was asking myself if Marie Curie would have continued exposing herself to radioactivity for the great cause of advancing science had she known the dangers of the radioactive elements. That we don't know. May be she would. But one thing we know for sure is that these Japanese workers did expose themselves to high level of radioactivity for an equally praiseworthy cause, knowing the dangers of it. They know many other lives depend on them and they chose to sacrifice. The Japanese people owe these heroes a lot.
This blog may just be my favorite so far because of the true sacrifice and pure heroism that is shown by these brave souls. These men are willing to most likely die in a miserable manner in a valiant effort to save innocent members of their community. Their heroism is only emphasized by the manner in which they handle their actions. They refuse to take credit for their heroism and only feel pain and aguish for their suffering neighbors and family members. This is truly a story of self-sacrifice and heroism at its purest form.