Heroism

It was an October morning in the small town of Gonzalez. The year was 1835, a group of men from the town road to the detachment of 100 Mexican dragoons that demanded the return of a small six pound cannon that had been loaned to the town to defend themselves against Indian reigns. The small group of Texan men simply pointed back towards the cannon and said “there it is come and take it.” Five months later the Alamo was besieged by the 4000 strong Mexican army lead by General Santa Ana. Five days before the fall of the Alamo, 32 settlers from Gonzalez snuck behind Mexican lines to reinforce the defenders. Knowing they faced certain death they still chose to defend the Alamo ultimately sacrificing their lives for freedom. When I visited the Alamo last summer I was moved by the selflessness the defenders had and their dedication for doing the right thing even when it cost them their lives. Today I will try to convince you to become a hero. First we will look at the importance of courageous actions, after that we will talk about the noble purposes that drive heroes and the ways you can become a hero. In doing this I hope to inspire you to think differently in the choices you make and to incorporate heroic traits into your everyday lives. More than 2,000 years before the Alamo a Greek King was faced with the same demands as the settlers from Gonzalez. King Leonidas of Sparta and his 300 warriors guarded the pass of Thermopylae against the Persian army of one million men and their King Xerxes. Because the people of Greece were unprepared for this attack, King Leonidas and his men volunteered to hold the narrow entrance of Greece so that the people of the country could raise the alarms and gather their army. Xerxes asked the Spartans to yield the pass and Leonidas responded by saying “Molan Lavae” which means come and take it or over my dead body. The battle raged for days but because of the defensive position that the Spartans had taken they were only defeated because of the overwhelming number of Persians. But their valiant stand was not in vain for the time they bought was great. The Greeks were able to raise their army and ultimately drive the Persians out. The 300 warriors share similarities with the settlers from Gonzalez. Both groups showed courage in overwhelming adversity. But what makes them memorable as heroes is their simple choice to ACT. If we act think of the change it would have in our world. Now that we’ve learned the importance of acts of courage let’s look at a driving force in heroism, Noble Purpose. In 1849 a black woman attempted to escape from slavery, explaining later “there is one thing I have a right to Liberty or Death. If I could not have one I would have the other”. Her name, Harriet Tubman, deciding to become a conductor on the Underground Railroad she went back to her land of enslavement. Soon she would return 11 slaves to safety up north. She was later known as Moses and rewards were posted for her capture. Nevertheless Harriet continued on her mission for 11 years and rescued 70 slaves over 13 expeditions and never leaving one behind. Harriet worked to save others on her beliefs that if she did something right God would keep her safe. As we look at our own lives we must ask ourselves the purposes that drive our actions. Do we think of others first or ourselves first' One man brought a country together uniting the economy and the people and brought the country into a world power, children and adults loved him; his name…… Adolf Hitler. His purpose ended up in the lives of over millions of people. Ones purpose can be used for good or evil. Noble purpose is within most heroes. I encourage you to think of others and use your purpose for good. Anyone in society can become a hero. There are two things that you need to be a hero. Opportunity and Initiative. Let’s say we all look for opportunity and we all find things that we can do to become a hero and we take the initiative. The result could be a chain reaction that sparks the act of heroism. Heroism is a powerful thing and is an important thing that we need to incorporate this into our lives it will not only benefit society as a whole but ourselves in the process. We can create a connection to the hero within ourselves as we need these heroes. Heroes come and heroes go Heroes die and heroes grow old For someone you know and someone you don’t Be a Hero. Thank You