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Anglo-Saxon Heroic Code • Anglo-Saxon war society was based on an ancient Viking heroic code. This code implied a set of values which stressed on the valor of an individual. Society concentrated on a strong, enterprising leader (the hero) and his followers, the warrior elite. The hero and his followers are called the fellowship (think of the fellowship in 'The Lord of the Rings'). The hero's motivation is to get fame and immortality in legend. The motivation for a follower is personal loyalty to his leader, this would bring him fame. • The leader had to the bravest in battle, otherwise he would lose credibility. The followers were expected to be almost as brave as their leader and to be loyal to the death. If the leader was killed in battle, a follower was supposed to fight to his death. If a follower left a battlefield after his leader had fallen, this was considered an act of cowardice and would lead to long-life shame.
Anglo-Saxon Heroes Byrhtnoth Beowulf
My Wall of Heroes • Abraham Lincoln • Bob Carey • Chief Joseph • Dogs • Gordon B. Hinckley • Mahatma Gandhi • Marie Curie • Marisol VallesGarcia • Martin Luther King Jr. • Mother Teresa • Pope John Paul II • Dad To return to this page, click on the picture of the hero.
Dogs Just one example: In 2009, a 14-year old mother abandoned her newborn baby in a field in Argentina. It was winter in Argentina and the temperature at night can get below 40° F. An eight-year old dog named La China found the baby, brought her home and nestled her among her litter of puppies, saving the infant’s life. The baby’s cries were heard by the dog’s owner hours later. He called the police, and the baby was taken to a local hospital. The infant had some bruises, but was otherwise healthy. --http://art2u.com/critterblog/?p=550 Sometimes I really wish all men were dogs. –me.
Bob Carey Carey loved the craziness of photographing himself in a pink tutu and never really took the idea seriously. However when his wife was diagnosed with breast cancer he felt that the project was just what they needed to keep their spirits up as she fought the disease. Carey’s wife beat the cancer, only to have it recur a couple of years later. Carey says “Oddly enough, her cancer has taught us that life is good, dealing with it can be hard, and sometimes the very best thing—no, the only thing—we can do to face another day is to laugh at ourselves, and share a laugh with others.” Funds from his photos are donated to support breast cancer awareness and research. --http://thetutuproject.com/ “Sometimes the very best thing—no, the only thing—we can do to face another day is to laugh at ourselves, and share a laugh with others.”
Marisol Valles Garcia At just 20 years old, Marisol Valles Garcia voluntarily accepted the job of chief of police in Praxedis Guadalupe Guerrero, a Mexican town bordering Texas. Her predecessor's head was left in front of the station a few days after he was kidnapped. By that time, a fifth of the town’s population had fled a wave of killings and burnings that have made it one of the most violent places on Earth. After just one year as chief of police, Garcia fled to the United States and sought political asylum in order to keep her husband and baby safe. "We're all afraid in Mexico now. We can't let fear beat us."
Abraham Lincoln Despite his humble upbringing and a lifelong battle against major depression, Lincoln rose to greatness as “The Great Emancipator.” He did not originally set out to gain the American Presidency as a part of his political career, but Lincoln’s conviction that slavery was immoral and destructive to the nation eventually won him the job. Lincoln is credited with emancipating the slaves and sending them on the path to full equality as citizens of the United States. He was assassinated just days after the Civil War ended. “A house divided against itself cannot stand.”
Mahatma Ghandi Mahatma Gandhi devoted most of his adult life to non-violent protest against racial and political injustice. He was imprisoned several times due to civil disobedience to unfair laws. He is credited with bringing racism to light in South Africa, as well as ending British rule in India. Many civil rights leaders, including Martin Luther King Jr., have used Gandhi's concept of non-violent protest as a model for their own fights for freedom from oppression. “A 'No' uttered from the deepest conviction is better than a 'Yes' merely uttered to please, or worse, to avoid trouble.”
Martin Luther King Jr. Like Ghandi, Martin Luther King Jr. was a civil rights activist for most of his adult life. His efforts led to the 1963 March on Washington, where he delivered his "I Have a Dream" speech. The speech established his reputation as one of the greatest public speakers in American history. King was the youngest person to receive the Nobel Peace Prize for his work to end racial segregation and discrimination through civil disobedience and other nonviolent means. After his assassination, King was posthumously awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom and Congressional Gold Medal of Honor. “Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that.”
Marie Sklodowska Curie Marie Curie is best known as the discoverer of the radioactive elements polonium and radium and was the first person to win two Nobel prizes. Her work not only influenced the development of fundamental science but also ushered in a new era in medical research and treatment. Despite laws against the education of women in Poland, she had a brilliant aptitude for study and a great thirst for knowledge. Curie never gave up her dream, and through hard work and determination she was finally able to leave Poland to continue her education. “Nothing in life is to be feared, it is only to be understood. Now is the time to understand more, so that we may fear less.”
Pope John Paul II Pope John Paul II was acclaimed as one of the most influential leaders of the 20th century. John Paul II was instrumental in ending communism in his native Poland and eventually all of Europe. He significantly improved the Catholic Church's relations with Judaism, Islam, the Eastern Orthodox Church, and the Anglican Communion. Though criticized by progressives for upholding Church teachings, he was also widely praised for his firm, orthodox Catholic stances. “The future starts today, not tomorrow.”
Chief Joseph Chief Joseph, known by his people as In-mut-too-yah-lat-lat (Thunder coming up over the land from the water), was best known for his resistance to the U.S. Government's attempts to force his tribe onto reservations. The Nez Perce were a peaceful nation; and the tribe had maintained good relations with the whites after the Lewis and Clark expedition. Chief Joseph's father, Old Joseph, signed a treaty with the U.S. that allowed his people to retain much of their traditional lands. Not long after, another treaty was created that severely reduced the amount of land, but Old Joseph maintained that this second treaty was never agreed to by his people. A showdown over the second "non-treaty" came when Chief Joseph assumed his role as Chief. Chief Joseph tried every possible appeal to the government to return the Nez Perce to the land of their ancestors. Despite his efforts, he was sent to a reservation in Washington where, according to the reservation doctor, he later died of a broken heart. “It does not require many words to speak the truth.”
Mother Teresa of Calcutta Mother Teresa was born Agnes Gonxha Bojaxhiu in Skopje, Macedonia. When she was just twelve, she felt the calling to become a missionary to spread the love of Christ. At the age of eighteen she left her home in Skopje and joined an Irish community of nuns. After a few months' training she was sent to India where she taught at St. Mary's High School in Calcutta. The suffering and poverty she glimpsed outside the convent walls made such an impression on her that she received permission from her superiors to leave the convent school and devote herself to working among the poor in the slums of Calcutta. Although she had no funds, she started an open-air school for slum children. Soon she was joined by voluntary helpers, and money began coming in. Mother Teresa devoted the rest of her life to the poorest of poor and neediest of needy. “Let us always meet each other with smile, for the smile is the beginning of love.”
Gordon B. Hinckley Gordon B. Hinckley’s whole life was devoted to service to God’s children—those he recognized as his own brothers and sisters. He recognized the necessity for individual choice and accountability while reaching out in love, and without judgment, to others who lived alternate lifestyles. Hinckley was well aware of the problems that radical patriarchal ideals can cause in marriages, and vociferously reprimanded priesthood leaders for hiding abusive behavior at home. Before he died, Hinckley was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom for his many efforts to provide humanitarian assistance and education to impoverished people around the world. "People wonder what we do for our women. I'll tell you what we do. We get out of their way and look with wonder at what they're accomplishing."
Dad In my dad’s early years, he endured life-threatening beatings from a drunken alcoholic father. When Dad was eleven years old, his mother fled for her life from New York to Nevada, taking her four children with her. They never saw my grandfather again. Dad learned how to take care of himself through Boy Scouts, and later contributed to the family’s income by lying about his age and becoming a fire-fighter at sixteen. Mom made him give up smoke-jumping when she married him. Dad is also a Marine veteran of the Vietnam war. Despite his rough upbringing, Dad has always been loving and gentle with his children and has never touched alcohol. He is also the only child in his family to graduate from college. “Mom always said you can’t go two ways on a one way street”
