Mandela's heroism is the heroism of a man who suffered so badly for what he thought of as freedom. And yet when he had the upper hand he has this incredible self-control and these incredible leadership qualities.
Heroism is not only in the man, but in the occasion.
Extreme heroism springs from something that no scientific theory can fully explain; it's an illogical impulse that flies in the face of biology, psychology, actuarial statistics, and basic common sense.
Well, my thoughts about California are kind of mythological. To me, as well as being a real place, it's a place where people go to find something - to find happiness or to realize their dreams. So it has that kind of quality of heroism and heartache, and Australia has that, as well.
Israel has created a new image of the Jew in the world - the image of a working and an intellectual people, of a people that can fight with heroism.
What we usually do to great men and women is relegate them to homogenised heroism. Their words and actions become soundbites and images in a way that gives us an excuse not to act bravely in our own lives.
Our media provides a continuing message that for men, heroism is defined through association with control, independence, and the ability to commit violence, from superheroes to crime dramas.
The feeling that makes 'Warcraft' work as a game is that feeling that heroism can come out of anything or anyone.
I do a lot of book signings and conventions every year, and I meet a great many readers who are struggling... they're working through illness, injury, addiction, depression, grief, or some other trauma. It seems to me that there's a lot of heroism in fighting those things as well, as best you can.
I'm not surprised that Spielberg was able to capture the heroism of Schindler; so many of his movies are about the better part of mankind.
