Wednesday, April 18, 2007

A True Hero

Not often in our lives do we really see a Hero. We try to equate the movie image with real live, but that truly is not the case. Movies, as expected, are nothing more than a hyperbole of life. I know we’ve often heard of courage with soldiers who throw themselves on a grenade, but these heroes are ‘trained’ to sacrifice for the ‘greater good’ of the team.

But the actions of Liviu Librescu during the massacre at Virginia Tech are truly heroic. Here is a 76 year old man who ‘just’ happened to be a Holocaust survivor who give his life to safe his entire class on the official Holocaust Day acknowledged throughout the world (except in the Islamic/Arabic world).

I know there were others who showed heroism during this tragidy, but I am in awe of Mr. Librescu. Could I, would I try to barricade a door and look in the eyes of a mass murder and throw my body and soul to save a group of students??? It is said that Cho was able to push open the door(s) a bit as he was trying to enact his destruction.

I can’t imagine what Mr. Librescu saw in Cho’s eyes. Mr. Librescu would have been around twelve years old during his incarnation by the Nazis. Can you imagine as a young lad to witness the horrors of the concentration camps and then experience this? I wonder if the dead eyes of Cho were the same as those of the heartless guards. After hearing and seeing Cho’s unbelievable post-mortem manifesto, I’m even more impressed by those who sacrificed themselves.

After this horror, I choose to not acknowledge the devastation wrought by Cho, but the honor Mr. Librescu.

God Bless.