Muleskinner

Issue date: 11/10/05 Section: Opinion

When was the last time you gave up your personal freedom for something you believed in?

When was the last time you were even challenged to do so?

In a culture that sends at least three persuasive messages every second glamorizing a "me, me, me" outlook on life, examples of sacrifice and selflessness are becoming less and less frequent. There is hope, though, and our culture has recently added another heroine to its book, Journalist Judith Miller spent 85 days in federal prison for refusing to reveal a confidential source to the federal grand jury about a CIA leak. Understanding that she "violated" a federal offense, she decided keeping her honor and ethics as a journalist was more important than obeying laws that violate her personal convictions.

The government and attorney Patrick Fitzgerald would probably disagree with me that Miller is a heroine. But think about it - what makes a person great? A unblemished record of rule-following? An allstar appeaser who makes everyone around them happy while never speaking up for their own preferences? I don't think so, and classic storylines back me up.

Think about some of the movies our culture embraces- "Beauty and the Beast," "Harry Potter," "Lord of the Rings" and "The Matrix." They all make a hero out of the character that goes against the grain and even gives up what is best for them to achieve something they believe is better. Belle decided to live in the Beast's castle to save her dying father's life; Harry stands up to his aunt and uncle about unfair rules, Frodo leaves the shire for the sake of mankind and Neo enters another world hoping to save others.

Heroes live from their heart and do the right thing. They don't simply follow the system; they hold up flags and even question the system.

After her release, Miller said, "I went to jail to preserve the time-honored principle that a journalist must respect a promise not to reveal the identity of a confidential source.

I chose to take the consequences, 85 days in prison, rather than violate that promise. The principle was more important to uphold than my personal freedom."

It's time to add more people like Miller to this culture's list of heroes and to follow her lead.

Let's rise to the occasion and stand up for the greater good; let's introduce our culture to a new era of heroes.

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