Whether or not a person comes in touch with the hero inside of him of her depends perhaps on the circumstances at the time of emergence of that trait. For it is demonstrated by history and myth alike that there lingers in the heart of every man and woman both a hero and a coward Which one prevails often appears to depend upon the circumstance of motivation. For instance, there have been innumerable accounts of a mom or dad acquiring a seemingly inhuman strength in the rescue of their child or loved one from harms way. Heroic acts are commonly associated with police officers, firemen, and others whose line of public service has the expectation of sacrifice on behalf of God, country, and humanity. Soldiers, for instance, are all hailed as heroes when, without question or complaint, they act on behalf of their country and in preserving that which they hold dear, and stand to face the declared enemy whom might otherwise destroy that which they hold religiously, politically, and philosophically dear to them.
             People who act with courage on behalf of that which they hold dear, but who are not public servants, gain perhaps even greater acclaim for their acts of courage than do public servants, because their act carries with it no expectation of heroism. For instance, on September 11, 2001, when the United States was attacked my radical Islamic fundamentalists turned commercial passenger jets into weapons of mass destruction against innocent civilians, including the passengers on those jets. On one of the jets, the passengers became aware that they were going to die regardless of what they did, and they sacrificed themselves for the greater good of their country rather than hold on to a few extra minutes of life that end with their death. In an attempt to regain control over the hijacked commercial jet, they caused it to crash in a rural area in Pennsylvania. Today, there stands a memorial at that crash site dedicated to the brave men and...