How Is Heroism Still Relevant Today

Heroes of Yesterday, Today, and Tomorrow In the land of the free and the home of the brave, freedom comes at a price, and often that price is a war for peace. The concept is ironic- for there to be peace, there must be war; for there to be light, there must be darkness; for there to be bravery, there must be fear. World War II is the epitome of this irony. For six years, it seemed as if humanity was at war with itself; more than fifty nations across the globe participated in what is now deemed the most devastating war to have ever occurred in history. Yet amid the clouds of violence and terror that had fallen upon Earth, countless heroes arose, forming the very definition of heroism- the willingness to empower others. As Theodore Roosevelt …show more content…
For instance, Georg Ferdinand Duckwitz, a German official, saved thousands of Jews instead of sending them to their deaths in concentration camps, despite the risks of betraying the German government. As the Nazis fought to eradicate Jews, people like Duckwitz fought battles of their own. Though they seemed miniscule compared to the armies of Gestapo, these heroes changed the world. Without them, there would have been nothing countering the evil that threatened to overcome humanity, and countless more lives would have been lost. Other heroes took action in Japan. After Hiroshima and Nagasaki were obliterated by atomic bombs, surviving doctors and nurses worked for days without sleep, saving the lives of thousands of injured civilians who swarmed around the few hospitals left standing. These heroes are what America and Japan had in common- in a time of crisis, there were people in both countries who displayed immense acts of compassion to help others. In fact, heroes are what every country in the world has in common. Even in a time of war, there are always heroes who defy the power of