Jennifer Doan, a teacher at Plaza Towers elementary school, is pulled out from under tornado debris at the school in Moore, Okla., on May 20, 2013. Greg Dobbs says teachers like Doan are heroes. (AP Photo Sue Ogrocki) ( | )
We all too often forget who the real heroes are. Even when we see them right before our eyes in places like Moore, Okla., and Newtown, Conn. We see them, but somehow don't call them what they are: heroes. Probably because they're just common folks, like the rest of us. Heroes, after all, are supposed to be bigger than life.
Yet some of the heroes in Moore and Newtown look like they could live next door. Because in effect, they do. They are teachers. Teachers, who became heroes in Moore, and Newtown, and many other places where children have been defenseless.
And that's a problem, because in our celebrity-centric society, the wrong people are treated like heroes and the right ones aren't. Ask some average Americans who their heroes are — as I have — and you'll get cringe-worthy answers. They'll describe sports stars (who only throw a good ball or swing a good bat) as their heroes. Movie stars, who only put on costumes and