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June 23, 2004
One of my heroes died today
I just read in the paper that 13 year old Mattie Stepanek died yesterday. A couple of years ago I was in a book store and saw a couple of his books laying on one of the clearance tables. I was instantly drawn to the colorful drawings on the covers and my heart was touched by the words inside.
This is my tribute to a boy who inspired me to be more thankful for what I have and who I am. Through Mattie’s words I found a fountain of life. There is a truth in the words that help us make it through the darkest storms in life. It’s not so much in the words but in the attitude of living and being thankful.
See the Pioneer Press article:
http://www.twincities.com/mld/twincities/news/nation/8988725.htm
See Mattie’s website:
http://www.mattieonline.com/
Poet Heroes page:
http://www.myhero.com/myhero/hero.asp?hero=mattieStepanek
Thank you Mattie for sharing your life with us.
Posted by carl1236 at June 23, 2004 4:00 PM | Attitude
Comments
Please circulate – the world would be quite different if these 50 people didn’t exist, including the UK’s Gender and post-conflict democracy-building expert Lesley Abdela (see Google etc).
‘Heroes Of Our Time: the Top 50’
New Statesman Magazine Cover Story
During Spring 2006 the international politics/current affairs journal New Statesman conducted a vote among readers for the top 50 heroes of our time. The New Statesman readership is influential and active, largely over 35 years of age, with the highest percentage of readers holding first and advanced university degrees of any other international magazine.
The poll’s definition of a hero:
‘A man or woman whose actions have been in the service of the greater good and whose influence is national or international: someone who is prepared to act in pursuit of a freer, more equitable and democratic future, without recourse to violence’.
Quite a few respondents thought the magazine meant ‘people for our time’ rather than people alive and active now, so Winston Churchill and Jesus and Marie Curie received a lot of votes.
See complete poll on www.newstatesman.com/200605220016
The response, published as the magazine’s cover story is ‘as surprising in its range and unpredictability as it was overwhelming’ though the first three are to be expected, world figures Aung San Suu Kyi, Nelson Mandela and Bob Geldof. Of the 50 who topped the poll, 10 are female (20%), out of whom 5 are British: Civil Society/Democracy/post-conflict reconstruction specialist Lesley Abdela, Liberty’s Shami Chakrabarti, Queen Elizabeth 11 (for her dignity and commitment to Democracy), human rights lawyer Helena Kennedy QC, Rt Hon Margaret Thatcher (scourge of the Soviet Union).
No. 49 is leading theoretical physicist Stephen Hawking, and No 50, Andrew Flintoff, famous English cricketer, soon captaining the team to Australia to keep the Ashes.
Campaigners ranked significantly, hence Bob Dylan (37th) and Bono (30th), Aung San Suu Kyi (1st), Mordechai Vanunu (24th), Lesley Abdela (34th), Helena Kennedy (40th), Noam Chomsky (7th) and John Pilger (4th).
Women voted into the top 50 Heroes of our Time:
Aung San Suu Kyi, Burmese pro-democracy campaigner (1st)
Lesley Abdela, international Champion of Women’s Rights, specialist in ‘gender in post-deadly conflict/natural disaster reconstruction’ (Kosovo, Afghanistan, Iraq, Aceh, Sierra Leone) (34th) (lesley.abdela@shevolution.com), one who has put her own life on the line for democracy and human rights
Mary Robinson, Ethical Globalisation Initiative, former UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (20th)
Germaine Greer, Academic and Broadcaster, author of ‘The Female Eunuch’ (25th)
Shami Chakrabarti, Civil liberties campaigner, Director of human-rights group Liberty (35th)
Anna Politkovskaya, Russian journalist reporting on Chechnya war (39th)
Helena Kennedy QC, leading British lawyer, especially on social justice (40th)
Toni Morrison, Pulitzer Prizewinner novelist on black America (48th) Margaret Thatcher, UK Prime Minister 1979-90 (5th)
Elizabeth 11, most travelled head of state in history (33rd)
Voted among the Top 50 male heroes of our time are (not in order) –
Amartya Sen, Nobel Laureate, writing on poverty, welfare and development (29th)
Bill Gates, Microsoft founder, with his wife Melinda one of the greatest philanthropists (8th)
Dalai Lama, Buddhist spiritual leader (9th)
Hans Blix, former UN weapons inspector (15th)
Tony Benn, former Cabinet Minister, veteran anti-war campaigner (12th)
Mikhail Gorbachev, last leader of the Soviet Union, relinquished power to help bring Cold War to an end (13th)
Tim Berners-Lee, Inventor of the worldwide web (28th)
Jimmy Carter, former US President, founder of the Carter Center, dedicated to alleviating poverty (41st)
Richard Dawkins, evolutionary theorist (26th)
Muhammad Yunus, Founder of Grameen Bank, ‘banker to the poor’ (22nd)
John Carr, international Internet safety expert, advises on protecting children from the dangers of the web (42nd)
Peter Tatchell, co-founder of OutRage, who attempted citizen’s arrest on Robert Mugabe (6th)
New Statesman magazine: tel. +44 20 7730 3444, fax +44 20 7259 0181 website: www.newstatesman.com e-mail info@newstatesman.co.uk
Posted by: Tim Symonds at September 24, 2006 2:03 PM