David P. McAllester is the other man. He died April 30th. He was a foundering member of the Society of Ethnomusicology. His 1954 book on the aesthetics of the Enemy way among the Navajo is a landmark in anthropology. McAllester took Navajo views about beauty (hozho) seriously. His World Music collection at Wesleyan University is a lasting treasure to the art of peoples around the world. He was known for bringing Navajo artists and performers to Wesleyan, introducing students to new ways of thinking about music. No longer were Navajo songs deficient from Western standards, rather they had to be evaluated by Navajo standards. He was also very generous to me personally.

Both men were not satisifed with a narrow view of the world, they wanted to learn and understand. And they took the knowledge of other cultures seriously. They saw beauty where once there were only rude dismissals and denials. They would have none of that.

Thanks for asking–no my husband’s murderer has not been caught. We had 19 1/2 great years. It has been difficult but I choose not to let this incident keep me from leading a happy and productive life–otherwise he wins again. I thank God for my kids and grandkids. Chuck lives on in these children.

Al Gore is the type of guy who believes in his fellow man and wants to help.

after that Stephen Colbert and Jon Stewart are my heroes.. make that superheroes!

-Hype

I just finished reading all of these posts. I have tears in my eyes. Thank you everyone for posting.

And to everyone who apologized for making a story too long (I except myself in this as it is not for me to decide if it applies) I just want to say that I found all of your stories moving and wonderful and far too short. You left me wanting more.

I find myself thinking about all of our forebears who had to be strong against tough odds and who, despite everything, made it.

I loved the Plutarch quote. The glory does indeed belong to the ancestors, but it has been wonderful to have been touched by them through you.

Thanks.

Dad also had no patience with the segregationist nonsense. He argued with my mother’s parents all the time about MLK and the civil rights movement. When his partner in the civil engineering firm dropped a black draftsman’s paycheck on the floor in front of him, Dad went ballistic, and told the draftsman not to pick it up. The partner was trying to humiliate the poor man deliberately. At the end of it, Dad reached down, picked up the check, and put it in his draftsman’s hand, with an apology for the crappy way the partner had behaved. That was the end of that business relationship — the draftsman stayed, and the partner was history.

Other heroes: Jimmy Carter. Don’t laugh: I have endless respect for the guy who got Menachem Begin and Anwar Sadat to sign a peace deal between Egypt and Israel. No one believed it would happen, that no one could get these two to sign. But Carter did it. And everything he’s done with Habitat for Humanity has increased that respect. Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi, MLK Jr., Margaret Sanger, and the thousands of ordinary men and women who comprised the Knights of Labor back in the late 19th century. Mark Twain for having the guts to call it like he saw it — his moniker for the Gilded Age, the Great Barbecue, applies today. I’d love to hear his take on the current mess — it would rival Colbert’s skewering at the WHCD. Salman Rushdie, for refusing to shut up when threatened with death over _The Satanic Verses_, and continuing to write some of the best global political commentary around. Molly Ivins, for fighting her battle with cancer with grace and humor, and for turning that needle-sharp wit on the Bush administration.

So, to deconstruct my own preferences, my heroes refuse to hear that something is impossible, that they cannot possibly win, that they might as well give in and go along to get along. They don’t care who laughs or argues. They stick to their guns and win just out of sheer stubbornness — because they believe that their course, their aims are just, true, and humane. They continue despite the risks — of failure (be it financial, political, social, etc.), of public ridicule, of unjust imprisonment, of death itself.

F.A. Hayek, George Orwell & Winston Churchill. Three different shades of Liberal.