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Terry has been dropped as captain of the team after it was revealed that he had been having an affair with the girlfriend (now ex) of a team mate and friend. What made this worse was the fact that he spent many hours and much money to keep this fact suppressed by taking newspapers to court. Clearly he understood what was at stake.
It has also come to the surface that he has been renting out the box seat at Wembley Stadium that he is given as a perk of being captain. This is specifically not allowed. He was recently found to be involved in selling tours of a stadium using his name. His marketers were discovered marketing him in this World Cup year against team rules.
This all complements his on field deficiencies. I’ve written about his spitting, elbowing, and cheating. I’ve written about his poor sportsmanship and disrespect of referees. I was disappointed when he was retained as captain when the new manager arrived in a flurry of talk about character being important.
So, finally a message has been sent to the fans around the world. At some point, sports players simply go too far. My hope is John Terry is pulled from the team to show professional athletes that they are role models, regardless of what they think. Professional coach, Harry Redknapp, said this week, “Footballers are young men, but they are role models and they are setting examples to kids out there – and they have to set the right examples. Kids look up to them every day and wear their shirts, they are in the public eye and they get very well paid to be in the public eye.”
Simply put, if you don’t want to be a role model, find another job. Naturally this applied to all sports. Tiger Woods has shown us that. Countless baseball players have shown us that. American footballers have shown us that. It’s time these people were made to understand reality.
280 heroes in 28 days.
The Gallery of Heroes is not large enough for my liking. So I’ve set myself a challenge. The month of February will see 280 heroes added. That’s 10 a day folks.
Clearly I’ll need some help with it. Kit and James have committed to helping out, but we’re unlikely to be able to get through it ourselves. So, I ask you, my loyal readers, to help out. Have a look at the current list of about 130 and work out who’s missing. Then write up a profile or hero’s journey and we’ll have plus one. Repeat as needed.
Not only will you have your name up in lights on the Hero Construction Company website, you’ll be helping kids (and adults) find new heroes to inspire them.
You’ll be able to keep up with all the heroes being added by following along on the site – or feel free to subscribe to the rss feed.
I’ve had these tabs open for a while, meaning to dedicate a blog post to them. Unfortunately, I can’t love them as much as I should, so they’re being put into one post.
Bullying affects bystanders as much as the targets. Some new research coming out shows that those seeing bullying happening are as likely to be affected negatively down the line as the those being bullied. “Rivers’ team said their study suggests school psychologists should consider the effects of bullying on bystanders, not just on those directly involved.” This is an important finding for those working in schools.
Miep Gies in 2009
Miep Gies died last week. She was a model everyday hero – or Real Action Hero. A quote in this article stopped me. “I don’t want to be considered a hero…. Imagine [if] young people would grow up with the feeling that you have to be a hero to do your human duty. I am afraid nobody would ever help other people, because who is a hero? I was not. I was just an ordinary housewife and secretary.” I completely understand what she’s saying and I think the fact I’m teaching kids that anyone can be a hero helps with that problem of needing to be special.
This article in The Age newspaper was sent to me by my mother. In it, there is a justified concern that today’s children are lacking heroes, in part because of the press. The author, Dmetri Kakmi says, “It’s much better to champion individuals whose actions truly deserve praise. When I got home, I made a list of contemporaries whom I consider to be heroes.” Why don’t you write your own list of heroes and compare?
And there’s news that Aung San Suu Kyi might be released. It comes from one of the ruling junta before the first “open” election are to be held, so I’m not sure how much I believe it. There is also the “coincidence” that she won’t be released until after the elections.
Anderson Cooper hosts the annual CNN Hero Awards every Thanksgiving. He is exposed to hundreds of heroes from around the world. This week, he became one while on duty in Haiti. The following is from his blog.
I saw a looter on the roof of the store they’d broken into throw what I think was part of a concrete block into the crowd. It hit a small boy in the head.I saw him collapse. More chunks of concrete were being thrown at the looters on the roof. The injured boy couldn’t get up. He’d try and then collapse again. Blood was pouring from his head. He was conscious but had no control over his body. I was afraid someone on the roof would see him lying there and throw another cinder block piece onto him. I was afraid he’d get killed. No one seemed to be helping him. I ran to where he was struggling, and picked him up off the ground. I brought him to a spot about a hundred feet away.
There is a fairly common complaint that too often, news reporters prefer to record events than fix them – remaining bystanders. Anderson Cooper chose to act instead.
Our heroic imagination is fostered in a number of ways, including imagining ourselves in situations where we act heroically. One important way is to be exposed to the stories and motivations of heroes. That can happen through reading news stories about heroes, watching movies with hero’s journeys and behaviours, and listening to interviews of heroes. Anderson Cooper has spoken to many heroes over the last few years and has been able to hear why they chose to do what they did. He has been inspired, amazed, and encouraged. I am 100% certain that his actions in Haiti this week were affected by his experiences with his role at CNN.
This is why I visit schools to share heroism with students. It’s why I write this blog. It’s why I’ve created a Gallery of Heroes. It’s why I’m part of the Heroic Imagination Project. Because the heroic imagination grows through exposure to heroism and when ordinary people are doing extraordinary things for others, Anderson Cooper’s task of finding one Hero of the Year will become more and more difficult.
Michael sent me this story and I had to share.
We had a really bad snowstorm that gave us a white Christmas this year here in Tulsa, Oklahoma. On Christmas Day the road conditions were terrible and everyone was trying to get to their families to spend the holiday with their loved ones. But I find myself thankful for it, because I have never seen people come together in such a way. People rushing and often already late wouldn’t hesitate for a moment to stop what they were doing and help keep someone from being stranded on the roads in the holiday. Even nearby sledders taking full advantage of the weather with their friends and family would come speeding down hills to help strangers. What may have been a terrible turn of events actually resulted in one of the most uplifting holidays I’ve ever had. Just thought I would share.
It’s this kind of thing that makes me confident heroism is alive and well. Real Action Heroes take action for the good of others regardless of the risk or sacrifice. Michael shows us people doing all of that.
“In the end, we will remember not the words of our enemies, but the silence of our friends.” – Martin Luther King, Jr.
The opposite of a hero is a bystander. Don’t remain silent when your friends need you, or indeed, when anyone needs you.
I’ve spent the last four days at Mt. Morris Junior High presenting to the 6th and 7th graders. This morning, in one of the seventh grade classes, a student’s pledge hit me as pretty impressive. I took a photo with my phone, which turned out to be of only so-so quality. I’ve embedded it below, but the text reads:
I, Jillian, pledge to be a hero-in-waiting by expanding my heroic imagination. I will achieve this by focusing on the following attributes and actions:
- Not being a liar
- Being a great friend
- Donating my time to someone who needs it
- Never sit and watch someone suffer
If our children can make pledges like this and follow through, I think we’ll be living in a pretty amazing world.
I saw “Avatar” the day it came out in Australia in a plush 3D digital theatre. I was amazed. If I hadn’t been so busy since, I would have seen it again. Naturally (and despite how much my friend Mike hates it), I saw the hero’s journey loud and clear. So did Matt Bateman, who created this comparison to “Pocahontas”.
Also have a look at this amazing analysis of the hero’s journey in “Avatar” by The Story Department website. http://thestorydepartment.com.au/1bn-structure-avatar/
I’ve been in sunny Australia since the start of December and am now back in snowy, sub-freezing Michigan. Back to work, back to blogging, and back to presenting. I have 1,200 kids lined up for January, starting this week in Mt. Morris.
So to start off the year, here are three links for you.
CNN has a “catching up” article on the heroes from the Thanksgiving TV show. There are some interesting developments and even some cooperation.
Newsweek has an article linking the hero of the Northwest flight to Detroit who jumped on the would-be-bomber to Phil Zimbardo’s (and mine) work.
Noah Blumenthal has written an article called “8 Ways To Be Heroic“. Noah released his book, “Be The Hero” last year, to great acclaim – I even have a blurb in the cover.
I’ll leave you with a photo of my 6 month old meeting her first kangaroo.
I just got back from seeing James Cameron’s Avatar. Apart from blowing me away in just about every way possible, there was a very clear hero’s journey that I will hopefully write down upon my next viewing. One of the clearest heroic aspects was one of choice though.
Zeno Franco explained to me that the heroic act comes from an internal recognition of something being wrong. When we see something that disagrees with our moral compass we come to a choice: do nothing, do bad, or do good. The hero, clearly, chooses to do good. This act combined with accepted risk or sacrifice is what makes a hero.
Jake Sully finds himself presented with such a situation.
I don’t think I’m giving anything away that wasn’t already in the trailers, but if you’re adverse to spoilers, don’t read any more.
The destruction of the Na’vi homeland clashes with Jake’s idea of wrong and right. As soon as he realizes this, Jake must make a decision. Do nothing, do bad, or do good. He could stand by as many of the Avatar staff do, he could provide the intelligence the military is asking him for, or he could protect the native people. Choosing the first two options would not have resulted in a movie. The third choice showed us a hero and gave us a story worth telling.
Anderson Cooper described the CNN Heroes award ceremony as being “about making a change in people’s lives, and celebrating people who are making changes.”
Each of the social heroes on tonight’s presentation received $25,000 to help them continue their work with the winner getting an extra $100,000. That money will probably fade in comparison with the donations these amazing heroes will receive after their stories have been told on CNN.
The show will be rebroadcast on Saturday and Sunday. I urge you to watch it. Here are the ten finalists.
Doc Hendley saw that 1.1 billion people don’t have access to water. He acted. winetowater.org
Roy Foster saw many veterans of wars living homeless. He acted. standown.org
Efren Penaflorida saw hundreds of street kids living without any chance of education. He acted. dynamicteencompany.org
Jordan Thomas saw young amputees being denied access to prosthetic limbs. He acted. jordanthomasfoundation.org
Betty Makoni saw thousands of women and girls being raped in Zimbabwe. She acted. girlchildnetworkworldwide.org
Derrick Tabb saw kids in New Orleans turning to a street life with little alternative. He acted. therootsofmusic.org
Jorge Munoz saw hungry men living on the streets in the Bronx. He acted. anangelinqueens.org
Brad Blauser saw kids in Iraq who needed wheelchairs. He acted. wheelchairsforiraqikids.com
Budi Soehardi saw homeless kids in Indonesia suffering on the streets. He acted. roslinorphanage.org
Andrea Ivory saw women dying from breast cancer due simply because of their ignorance of the disease. She acted. flbreasthealth.com
It is easy to watch this show and say, “but what can I do?” These people have made massive change and it’s hard to imagine yourself doing something similar. But look at them. They’re ordinary people. They’re people like you. All that happened was they received a call to adventure – something inspired them to act and they did. These people aren’t better than you, they just acted. As Neil Patrick Harris said during the show, “a hero is someone who acts, no matter what.”
What could you do? Look around you for your call to adventure and ACT.
Tonight was the third annual CNN Heroes: An All Star Tribute hosted by Anderson Cooper. While the winner was announced earlier in the week, this show is regularly a parade of amazing, ordinary people. The focus is on Real Action Heroes – those people who have seen a need and taken action.
Larry King presented an introduction to the show with a series of questions delivered to various celebrities. Matthew McConaughey presented family members as his heroes, as do many of the participants in the Hero Construction Company presentations. He said fictional heroes are fine if you can pull something in from their character or story. He thinks circumstances are key to heroism – they’re not born.
Tyra Banks suggested that we look at our hero’s path so we can copy it and make it our own. She also reminded us that heroes are human – not perfect.
Shakira listed her heroes as Harriet Tubman, Elizabeth II, and educators in Third World countries. She thinks education to every child should be our goal – it’s the perfect strategy to eradicate poverty. She said a hero is someone who never gives up the fight, believes in something and defends it. They must be brave and speak for those without a voice. She thought each one of us has a hero inside – we just need to let it out so it can manifest itself.
George Lopez said a hero is someone who takes time for someone else – his was a teacher in high school. He thinks heroes aren’t deliberately acting to be a hero.
Larry King inexplicably kept bringing up baseball players in his various interviews. I hope he was using them as contrasts, rather than examples.
101 Great Goals has a roundup of press on the Hand of Gaul today. The summary is that Thierry Henry could have owned up, but that the normal thing to do in this sport (maybe any sport) is to cheat until the referee spots it. This is exactly the kind of environment in which a hero stands up.
Some quotes from their post:
“Thierry Henry is a liar and a cheat. He is also a footballer, and he stands out from his fellow professionals as a sheep stands out in a flock of sheep. It is a a fact of life — footballers cheat. Their duty, as they see it, is not to obey the rules but to do what is best for the team. If a footballer can get away with something that helps the team, he is duty-bound to do the dirty deed. That is the morality of 21st-century professional football.”
“Why you, Thierry? Why you of all people? You always stood for something purer in the polluted world of football. You sent ‘good luck’ texts to rivals like Steven Gerrard. You sought out Frank Lampard after one Chelsea-Arsenal tear-up, wishing him great joy with impending fatherhood. You played the game with style and a smile. So why cheat? … What is truly dispiriting about this skulduggery at the Stade de Fraud is that the perpetrator was Henry, an individual admired within an oft-criticised game for possessing principles. Until Wednesday.”
“You are the captain of France, the country that gave us the World Cup, and here you had the chance to show us what sport can mean – or, at least, what we tell our children it means.”
This argument that players should cheat until the referee spots it was a large issue in cricket not too long ago, and still boils under the surface. This attitude is prevalent in sports, but also in life. Imagine what the financial world would look like if cheating until you’re caught was not the standard. The fact is, sports, and the way they’re played, influence those who watch. If there are no morals in sports, there will be no morals in society.
This is not the way to play a sport. It is not the way to live life.
Thierry Henry fell from grace an hour ago as he deliberately used his hand to help score a goal for France in the dying minutes of an elimination game against Ireland for World Cup qualification.
Henry has been held in high esteem by many in the soccer world (including me) for his grace, his fairness, and his efforts to fight bigotry in the world game. However, there is no denying he deliberately used his hand (and forearm) to keep the ball in play before passing it to William Gallas for the winning goal.
I can understand reflex taking over in a situation like this. However, once the handball happened, it was time for a hero or villain to act. Henry chose to say nothing, the unfortunately typical human response in such situations. He had an opportunity to show the world what sportsmanship is. He failed and, in doing so, further sullied the reputation of this sport.
