[February 17, 2016] After 9/11 when terrorists struck the United States homeland, there were many people who emerged as heroes. Among them were firefighters, police officers, sanitation workers, and yes even ordinary people who were all involved to save people and engaged in the dangerous cleanup effort in New York City, at the Pentagon, and in Pennsylvania.1
In our society where the trend is less for respect of others (note that some leaders promote disrespect), firefighters stand out as the epitome of the hero and deserving of our admiration. Sadly, the closeness of New Yorkers has waned in the years since that tragic day and our firefighters have, again, been mostly forgotten. Police officers are now targeted for doing their jobs … but will firefighters be next?
The answer to that question is “yes.” There have been a number of our politically “progressive” leaders who say that firefighter departments in New York City and elsewhere are racists and misogynic and thus in need of fixing.2 Has the NYC mayor or other leaders stepped up to exercise real leadership? Have other political leaders pushed back against political correctness? The moral courage of our leaders to protect our firefighters has been lost.
Our firefighters are real heroes and I’m happy to report that there are a number of organizations that loudly and publically support our firefighters.3,4,5,6 And, some more good news is that a few of those running for the U.S. presidency have made note of this and they are to be congratulated for doing so.
Leadership takes guts and this is a case where it’s sorely needed.
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- Many of these people will forever remain unknown but what they did that day will never be forgotten and neither should it be. As many of us in NYC know, these were our relatives, friends, and neighbors; not some vague notion of nameless people.
- http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/60-000-test-takers-call-fdny-bias-case-article-1.1108828
- http://myhero.com/hero.asp?hero=firefighters
- https://www.facebook.com/thefirefighterheroes
- http://www.firehero.org/
- http://heroes.org/