Heroes in Plain Sight

So where have all the heroes gone? Nowhere. They are running lifeguard towers, teaching classrooms, caring for aging parents, telling the truth when it isn't popular, and quietly living out convictions the world will never fully understand;

Joseph J. Bucci , Bio and Archives--August 7, 2026

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We are currently in awe of a 16 year-old lifeguard in California, who was filmed holding tightly to a struggling overwhelmed 10-year-old boy who was ready to be carried out to sea, but not for the heroic efforts of the first-year lifeguard (Toohey, 2026). The teen lifeguard passed it off as just another day at the office for lifeguards like himself (Toohey, 2026). And that is why we love him even more. He does not describe what happened for glory, but his actions were heroic in the true sense of the word. It may be that we need a reminder about what “heroic” really is.

Patrick Bet-David, in his best-selling book “Your Next Five Moves” (Bet-David, 2020) wrote that heroes can be an inspiration to people asking themselves the question, “who do you want to be?” Unfortunately, we have also discovered once revered heroes who have fallen off their pedestals of late. Dr. Anthony Fauci, who was previously considered a hero for directing the US government’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic, has suddenly turned out to have made contradictory statements to the public as compared to his transparent statements in his own diary; causing some legislators to label him a fraud (Iorfida, 2026). That’s the problem with making human being into heroes. There are times when heroes fall off their pedestal because they are simply human beings who may not always act each time in a heroic manner (Celizic, 2009).

In a great article by a favorite sports writer who left us way too soon, Mike Celizic wrote about us propping up athletes as heroes (Celizic, 2009). Celizic noted that young people tend to elevate their favorite ball player as hero and idolize them. But these ball players are human beings, and while they have extraordinary talent, they are also not perfect. Celizic reviews a host of modern-day sports “heroes” who have said or done some extraordinarily dumb things despite the amazing athletic talent they have (Celizic, 2009).

This brings to mind our most recent ‘athlete as hero’ Sophie Cunningham (Grossman, 2026). For Cunningham, she has not achieved hero status because of her prowess on the basketball court. She was elevated to heroine by saying something that seems pretty common sense, but in our world today is not often commonly stated. Cunningham........

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