American Heroes

We’ve had the anniversaries of the two greatest American achievements of the 20^th century this year.  In June, we marked the 75^th anniversary of the D-Day invasion, which marked the beginning of the end of the Third Reich.  Last week, we commemorated the 50^th anniversary of the moon landing and Neil Armstrong’s first step onto the lunar surface.

While we passed these milestones, I happened to be reading two wonderful books:  Skin in the Game by Nassim Taleb and Frederick Douglass: Prophet of Freedom.

This all got me to thinking of what makes an American hero. In this crazy, divisive, hyperpartisan time, it would do us well to consider that question.

The actions of the men that withstood the hellfire of the Nazi regime and took the beaches at Normandy speak for themselves.

In considering that question, I was struck with the parallels between Aldrin and Douglass.  Different men. Different times. Tackling different problems.  But both true American heroes.

I heard Buzz Aldrin speak in person two years ago at the Printers Row Lit Fest and heard and met Kenneth Morris, Jr. the great great great great grandson of Frederick Douglass at the American Writers Museum last summer.  Morris beamed that he remembers his great grandmother so he touched the hands that touched the hands of Frederick Douglass.  So I was able to touch the hands that touched the hands that touched the hands of Frederick Douglass. 

Both took great physical risks and displayed great physical courage.  Aldrin was propelled in space and landed on the moon with only seconds of fuel left.  No one knew for certain what the outcome of this trip would be.  Douglass took great risks and put it all on the line numerous times over the course of his life.  He escaped slavery.  He suffered several verbal and physical assaults throughout his career.  And in the ultimate demonstration of “skin in the game,” his son fought with the famed 54^th Massachusetts colored regiment so vividly depicted in the film Glory.  Neither of these men shrank from physical challenges.

Both lived fully.  At 89, Buzz Aldrin is still lecturing, flying and being vibrant late in life.  Likewise, Douglass worked into old age and never really stopped.  Both Aldrin and Douglass continued to write late in life.  Aldrin published another book in 2016-- his 7th.

And both had messy personal lives, suffered family turmoil and suffered setbacks.  Aldrin was thrice divorced.  Most recently, he was involved in lawsuits and was accused of having dementia.  Frederick Douglass was always bailing out family members financially, lost a son and several grandchildren to early deaths.  Like Aldrin, he was subject of a lawsuit and led the Freedmen’s Bank when it collapsed. 

After spending some time thinking about it, I was struck with the parallels of these two men.  One black one white.  One helped to solve a 19^th century problem, one a 20^th.  Both men were patriotic and believed in self-reliance. 

Both lived fully and never stopped.  At 89, Buzz Aldrin is still lecturing, flying and vibrant late in life.  Likewise, Douglass worked into old age and never really stopped.  Both Aldrin and Douglass continued to write late in life.  Aldrin published another book in 2016, his 7^th.    And having accomplished their primary goals, both men continued to advocate for new frontiers.  With emancipation, Douglass moved on to equal rights, enfranchisement, and ending lynchings in the South.  Aldrin has continued to push for space exploration and a manned excursion to Mars.

But after reading Taleb’s book,  I realized that what really cements them as icons in my mind is that they had skin in the game.  Both sacrificed greatly for their achievements.  Both risked bodily harm and death for their cause.  Douglass did this throughout his life and his son put himself on the front lines of freedom.  Most importantly, their causes were much more than a pursuit of heir own self-aggrandizement.

In my mind, what made Frederick Douglass and Buzz Aldrin so special---true heroes is the risks that they took.  They put themselves on the line for the causes they pursued.