Heroes: Part 3- Women Heroes

When I started writing about my heroes, I listed a bunch of men. Well, here's the group of women who would make my list of Top Heroes. Their witnesses have been just as powerful to me as the men. (Listed alphabetically.)

• Dorothy Day- Co-founder of the Catholic Worker Movement, she was a tireless advocate for the poor and social justice based firmly in her understanding of the faith. A confirmed pacifist, she often found herself in trouble with the established church and government.
• Betty Ford- It took courage for a First Lady to admit to being an addict. Much of the progress we have made in reducing the stigma that chemical dependence has had is thanks to her.
• Anne Frank- For one so young, Anne Frank is perhaps the hero of heroes. She was able to maintain hope and light in her life in spite of the horrific circumstances. This quote says it best: "Despite everything, I believe that people are really good at heart."
• Helen Keller- A personal fight against her own disabilities make her another of those special heroes. An activist and outspoken author, she was the first deaf-blind person to get a Bachelor of Arts. When I think my problems keep me from succeeding she and Anne Frank humble me.
• Mother Theresa- a human saint. She had many demons no one knew about but kept on moving forward in faith. Perhaps without her doubts she wouldn't have been so faithful. "If you can't feed a hundred people, then feed just one."
• Rosa Parks- To take a seat on a bus and thereby start a revolution. It is not in the BIG things that we make a difference. Sometimes it is just sitting down in the right place.
• Eleanor Roosevelt- Another First Lady who took stands of courage. She spoke out on racial issues, she held her own press conferences, she was more than just Franklin's spouse. She was Eleanor- and in many ways FDR was her spouse. An example of feminism before it existed. What a role model for anyone.
• Theresa of Avila- A mystic with a heart open to God's grace, this 16th Century Spanish nun was a theologian, guide of the inner life, and instrumental in the Spanish renaissance.There is deep truth in her understanding: "I do not fear Satan half so much as I fear those who fear him."

Heroes: Part 2- More About My List

A month ago I posted about a list of my heroes. I wasn't talking about the individuals that touched me personally- professors, elders, etc. I have talked about some of them in other posts. Many of them (most of them?) are now passed on, my mentors are gone. But these heroes are some of the world-changers who have most motivated, inspired, challenged, and ultimately changed me. It started as an introduction to a post of pictures of Cesar Chavez that I took over 40 years ago. It is now morphing into more than just Sr. Chavez.

Here then is that original list, in alphabetical order, with one addition that I can't believe I missed.

• Louis Armstrong- perhaps the greatest, most creative and even talented of all 20th Century musicians. He inspired me as a trumpet player, but also as one who stood up and did what needed to be done to be successful.
• Dan and Phil Berrigan- The Brothers Berrigan, both originally Roman Catholic priests, although Phil left to get married. Their faith led them to some acts of civil disobedience and time in prison. Jesus, they believed, wanted His followers to speak out against war and injustice. Their witness was a challenge to my easy, comfortable, "personal" faith.
• Dietrich Bonhoeffer- Deeper than even the Berrigans, Bonhoeffer may be the quintessential theologian/witness against the horrors of the 20th Century. His challenge to "cheap grace" and the "cost of discipleship, opened understandings into being a Jesus follower that he barely had a chance to live out. A man of amazing trust in God and a challenge to cultural christianity.
• Cesar Chavez- I spoke of his witness for the poor and oppressed. He was another man of faith, non-ordained, but one whose life was guided by an awareness of the ways of Jesus.
• Robert Kennedy- In my mind, the most challenging of politicians of the mid-20th Century. A complex and probably conflicted person who showed both the good and bad of politics in his short history. In the end, he was attempting, I believe, to make the changes in himself and the country that were, and still are, sorely needed. His announcement of Martin Luther King's death on the streets of Indianapolis is one of the more moving moments of a very difficult year.
• Martin Luther King, Jr.- The man I would nominate for American of the Century. Another man of faith, working at his best to make a difference. His commitment to non-violence helped move civil rights into the mainstream. He and others lost their lives to make it happen. His "I have a dream" speech still stands as a beacon and guidance for the future.
• Mahatma Gandhi- The guiding saint of non-violence. He died the year I was born, but his teachings and witness still reverberate. An amazing individual.
• Harvey Milk- A man who kind of fell into the right place at the right time. He didn't know what to do with his life so he became an activist for Gay Rights- or at least that's how it looks from the outside.He came out of the closet, won his place in the city of San Francisco, and lost his life. Yet he helped give life to that part of the civil rights movement that we are finally seeing the results from.
• Nelson Mandela- In my book, the Man of the World for the 20th Century. With every reason to be angry and vengeful, he turned toward reconciliation. Oppressed and imprisoned for his fight for equality, he didn't try to take away the equality of his prisoners or oppressors. Along with Bishop Desmond Tutu, a witness to the world of the right way to forgive- anything!
• Pope John XXIII- A quiet man of gentle faith who pulled the Catholic Church out of the middle ages and showed that the church should have a voice in the modern world. In way too short a time as Pope he accomplished hundreds of years of reform. While some of it slowed down after his death, he gave faith a hopeful name. Pope Francis appears to be trying to walk in his holy shoes.
• Archbishop Oscar Romero- El Salvadoran Bishop, he believed in liberation of the oppressed and to change a corrupt system based on wealth and prestige. He had called for Christian soldiers to put down their arms and stop oppressing the poor. A day later, as he stepped to the altar for the Eucharist, he was assassinated. The oppression of Jesus' followers can be just as powerful in Christian countries.
• Elie Wiesel- Holocaust survivor, Nobel Prize laureate, the voice for the voiceless millions of World War II genocide. The only man on the list (other than Chavez) who I personally saw and heard speak. A gentle man who in his demeanor maintains that innocence that continues to ask the awful question, "How can this happen?" while always working so that it will happen "Never again!" He is an icon for me, an image that allows me to see into the pained face of God as God looked down on our human insanity of the 20th Century.

Many of these were paradoxes- mixtures of good and bad, healthy and unhealthy habits. Just like me.

Many were men of deep faith who allowed their faith to guide their whole walk in life. As a result, most were willing to stand up to the established order so that it would be more open and receptive to more people.

All, in their own ways, were rebels, radicals, even, hoping to make a difference. Whether through music, words, or actions, these individuals have shaped my faith and my outlook on the world. They all make sense to me. I have no idea if I could ever do what they did in the face of what they lived. When I look at them, I can only repeat what the father of a boy with an evil spirit said to Jesus:

I believe; help my unbelief.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

As I noted in the previous post last month, this is a list of men. They came to mind first probably because of the simple fact that I am a man and the ones who most moved me into so many challenges gave me different understanding about being male. In another upcoming post I will take a look at the women who are my heroes.

Heroes

A book I discovered at the library a couple weeks ago got me thinking about who my heroes are- the people I look up to as "role models" and people who have influenced me- and the world. That last phrase takes me away from just talking about a few individuals who I have had the honor of knowing. People talk about a parent or professor. I'll do that in other times and places. This is about some of the world-changers who have most motivated, inspired, challenged, and ultimately changed me.

Martin Luther King, Jr.
Robert Kennedy
Elie Wiesel
Pope John XXIII
Mahatma Gandhi
Dan and Phil Berrigan
Archbishop Romero
Louis Armstrong
Harvey Milk

And the one who got me thinking of this list because of a biography I found recently:

Cesar Chavez: I had the good fortune of meeting him at a presentation in Allentown, PA, in the early 1970s and took these pictures.

Note the "Si, se puede" on the banner on the right side of the picture on the left, the original use of that famous phrase.

I have to admit that I had difficulty boycotting non-union lettuce and grapes. My wife and I often struggled with that action. We did our best and did other things to support the cause.

It was probably Chavez's influence that has helped move me to being such a fan of things Hispanic and Latin American. His work and inspiration later opened me, I believe, to the possibilities of Liberation Theology and the witness of Archbishop Romero. Chavez, also, was an excellent example of the work of Dr. King and Gandhi brought to a different culture. That, too, was exciting.

The one thing I noted on my list was, to no surprise, the fact that most of them were men of faith. Deep faith. Even Elie Wiesel, who faced some of the worst that life can throw at anyone, remained faithful to the God of his ancestors. He may have had a big argument with adonai but he continued to engage God, asking for answers and a way to make sure that no one ever forgot.

Finally, one more thought- I also noticed that when I made this list of Ten Heroes, there was no woman among them. Probably not a surprise considering the era I grew up in- and that most heroes like these impact our personal growth and identity.

So what started as simply a vehicle to post some pictures of Cesar Chavez, may well turn into something more. I think I am going to attempt to do a series on my heroes, talking more about the ones on this page, and finding the women heroes of my life.

Keep watching.