Who Are Your "Contemporary" Heroes

[DemocratSinceBirth]

Mine are:

John F Kennedy

Robert F Kennedy

Martin Luther King

Muhammad Ali

Those were my heroes when I was a seventh grader in 1970 and they remain my heroes to this day....


I can still remember going to my African American friends homes and seeing the inevitable painting of JFK, RFK, and MLK...

[xJlM]

1. Dennis Kucinich

A common man who is willing to stand up and fight for the American people. That's pretty rare these days.

[DemocratSinceBirth]

4. DK 's a good guy for sure

but I'm talking pantheon...

Brian

[union_maid]

7. MLK

Not a contest for me. He was a more effective leader for positive change than any American in my lifetime. He did what he did, knowing better than most of us how his life would likely end.

[DemocratSinceBirth]

2. I Shoul Add

that I have learned that none of my heroes are the "cardboard saints" I believed them to be when I was a kid but I still believe all of them were fundamentally decent people and a force for good...

[kodi]

3. bob dylan

.

[Cappurr]

5. All those guys were heros in one way or another

So it was a tough choice for me. But I ended up picking "other". And my "other" is Walter Cronkite. In today's media Cronkite reminds me of what real journalism used to be. He reminds me of the days I could trust our "freedom of the press". And he was an honest, as unbiased as he could be reporter. I'll never forget when Kennedy died and Walter cried on air. I cried with him as I suppose we all did.

[Ilsa]

6. BEV HARRIS!

I admire her for going after the truth at personal risk to herself, her finances, her reputation, etc. She's just a "regular" person, hoping to uphold the democratic tradition of representation by fair voting.

[xJlM]

9. This is another good one

Common folks inspire me a lot more than the wealthy, well-educated upper echelon doctors, lawyers, and generals (or television personalities).

[Cappurr]

12. I hope you weren't referring to Walter Cronkite

as a "television personality". He was a journalist years before TV came into American homes. But once on TV he managed to make the American people feel comfortable in his reports. He never shouted, or demagoged.....he just read the news (that he, himself, had written).

[xJlM]

16. No, not at all.

WC was around when I was a child, but I'm referring more to the idiotic "television journalists" we see today. Some of them are recognised in most households, but they add very little to the fabric of society (in my opinion).

[Cappurr]

19. Exactly...

Which is why Walter stands out in my mind so much. He is the last one I could really trust. The others all disappointed me. And now....well most are just a bunch of screaming idiots, particularly on cable and Fox. I like Peter Jennings OK. But hes no Cronkite

[Padraig18]

8. Nelson Mandela

No explanation needed, beyond this: courage and dignity personified! :)

[Cappurr]

10. Very Good Choice

n/t

[Jonte_1979]

11. James Earl Carter (nt.)

[cmd]

13. My choice too n/t

[Padraig18]

22. Also an EXCELLENT choice!

:)

[CMT]

25. I'm on the Carter bandwagon too

A great man a great peacemaker.

[DuctapeFatwa]

14. Hugo Chavez, Barbara Lee, Ram Chandra

nt

[DemocratSinceBirth]

15. Joe Lieberman

leads JFK and RFK...

LOL

Is this the D U board or the conservative Democrat board?

[LWolf]

17. Gandhi.

And a few unknown people I've encountered in real life:

My ex-FIL. Who made it possible for the isolated, hopeless child I was to achieve an impossible dream.

A mentor who helped me believe I had something valuable to offer in the early days of my profession, and who showed me that it was possible to work with people for the good of all, outside of bureaucratic crap.

That's all.

[sujan]

18. second that

[laura888]

21. thanks for your personal story

its sometimes easy to forget how powerful one person can be in another's life. Your post moved me.

[LWolf]

23. You are welcome!

It moves me, too. And it reminds me that we are all heroes and heroines, one small choice at a time, whether the world is looking or not. We never know where the ripples will end up when we choose to act for good.

[LearnedHand]

20. Barbara Jordan, dammit!

She was awesome, incredible, amazing! She was a U.S. Representative from Houston when I was growing up there. She was powerful, articulate, aware, informed, involved. And she worked to encourage more women -- especially African-American women -- to get involved in politics.

And it seems as if you also overlooked other powerful women heroes such as Molly Ivins, Anne Richards, Hillary Clinton, etc.

[Ilsa]

27. Barbara Jordan is an excellent choice!

Glad you reminded us of her service to this country.

[bpilgrim]

24. Zinn, vonnegut, parenti, sen. byrd, steve wozniak, mcinney, granny d

chomsky, tim berners lee, my wife, so many...

peace

[starroute]

26. Add the Dalai Lama

One of the few who's been a consistent force for good in the world.