Look closer to find more heroes

Good writers take from other writers. Great writers just steal it.
That’s a line from one of my favorite writers – Aaron Sorkin. The Sorkin who created West Wing, Sports Night, Newsroom, A Few Good Men, The Trial of the Chicago 7, and The Social Network, among just a few.
One of Sorkin’s recurring themes in West Wing is heroes, and watching an episode the other night lying in bed, it got me to thinking about heroes and how we define them nowadays.
Typically our heroes are those that are extraordinary when most are ordinary. First responders, military personnel, really good doctors and nurses, the prototypical heroic professions.
But are we selling many other people short? Can a hero be a teacher? A mentor? A therapist? A parent?
And can we take that to the ground even further. How about a developer? A good neighbor? A politican? A sibling?
We’re certainly in a time where we need to find American heroes.
“This is a time for American heroes,” said Sorkin’s Jed Bartlet.
In my journeys around Fort Madison the last few days, I started looking at people doing work around town. It seems heroic to me.
Workers are climbing all over the house just up the street from me on Avenue E. They’re taking what was an aging apartment complex and completely redoing it. These folks are all over this house. I’m sure it’s an older home “with good bones” but they are hammering 10 hours a day on that thing – cutting new siding, a new roof, and who knows what else is going on there. The thing that sticks with me is the improvement and added value to the community. They're saving that building and that, to me, is heroic.
I stopped by Barb and Miles Asay’s new project and was completely blown away. They have taken the home owned by a former teacher across from their new home and are completely restoring the property – all the way down to new grass. It’s just one of more than 30 that the Asays have recycled and put back on the market. One they kept and it’s a beautiful new home across the street.
This was a beautiful brick home that was almost hidden by overgrowth and now not only can you see the whole home and a new garage, but you get to watch the transformation take place. This too is heroic work.
Was Sorkin talking about heroes in a way that meant only those who put their lives on the line? I don’t think so and that’s not meant to take anything away from the people that do put their lives on the line every day – law enforcement, firefighters, EMS, military, et. al.
I think he was talking about people in general who go about their lives in a way that benefits others.
Patrick Lamb and the staff at Fort Madison High School pulled together one of the most effective and efficient legions of clean up and companionship the city has ever seen. This was 500 kids and about 250 staffers, community members, and partners spending seven hours totally focused on community. If that’s isn’t heroic, then maybe we don’t get what heroism is.
Most definitions of heroism focus on bravery and mostly in the face of danger. Any one serving in careers where, at any moment, they would be in the throes of danger certainly fits the bills. I’ve done a simulator where you are in the face of danger, a simulator, and I’ve written about that.
It's real and your emotions and senses, untrained, are whack during those simulations. I left that morning of just hours of exposure to what law enforcement could run into any day, saying these people are underpaid and emotionally overtaxed. Absolute heroes. Our paid fire department is one of the best I’ve seen and I’ve lived in about six different places with both volunteer and paid. When a call of a fire comes over the scanner and I jump in the truck, these folks have it under control, if not out, before I even get there.  I once got a photo of a garage fire, where the blaze was reaching out over the top of a firefighter who was on a knee with a hose battling the blaze. It was one of the most incredible images I ever caught.
Se we all know these people as heroic. It’s a given. But tackling different parts of community ills is also heroic and I think we should start looking at things through those lenses.
The people at the Food pantry are gearing up for what can be considered an emergency food situation with SNAP benefits being held hostage. People were out in front of this and now there will be options for those struggling with food insecurity. You gotta want it a bit to see the danger in that heroism, but it’s there. Being there for people who are going hungry is heroic. And doing it on the local level is transparent heroism.
Rural Iowa is a struggle right now, and fighting the rapid transition away from rural communities to metro areas, even in Iowa, is heroic.
So the next time you’re driving around town look at the things that are going on, or on a walk with your earbuds in, try to find the people doing things that you normally wouldn’t pay much attention to.
Think about the value of that work and know that these are credible projects aimed at keeping Fort Madison primed for a resurgence in rural living. It is heroic. And then, when the  ambulance or fire truck or police car goes flying by engaged, know those folks set the bar pretty high.
The election this week put two new mayors in place in our two biggest cities. I immediately started thinking about new potential in the county with Melinda Blind and Mark Smidt leading the way in the most populous areas of the county. I’ve known both of these individuals for several decades and I think this county has just done something special in bringing in some new faces with new energy, and from what I’ve seen of them both, a good sense of fair play. This will be fun to watch – But that’s Beside the Point.
Chuck Vandenberg is editor and co-owner of Pen City Current and can be reached at Charles.V@PenCityCurrent.com.