http://www.dallasnews.com/s/dws/nwsltr/religion/stories/Religion_Sneak_Peek_ 6-2.2d6b08142.html
A bit of this, a taste of that and some thoughts about what makes a hero 05:50 PM CDT on Thursday, June 2, 2005 yr hmbl srvnt So what makes a hero? The top of the news this week was Mark Felt announcing that he was Deep Throat - the secret source that helped get the ball rolling that eventually carried the Nixon administration into the dustbin of history. Amidst the historical thumbsucking, some are dithering over how to categorize Mr. Felt: Hero? Traitor? Something else? Some accounts (including the one in the Washington Post) suggested that his motives weren't pure. I've written a bit about people who research heroics. And here's my thought: A hero is someone who does something heroic. That means s/he does something at personal risk and for more than personal gain. And for a cause I agree with. No kidding, heroism is subjective. Many terror suicide bombers surely meet the first parts of my definition - personal risk for more than personal gain. (And for those who agree with their cause, they are heroes.) Leave the cause aside for a moment. We will all generally agree that a soldier who flings himself at the foe may have glory on his mind. But would that make him less a hero? Swashbuckling always has a bit of ego in it, but history is littered with swashbuckling heroes. Move to Mark Felt aka Deep Throat. Did he put himself at personal risk? Ubetcha. I'm old enough to remember the days. And there was no question the Nixon administration was willing to use the gears of government to punish its enemies. (Come to think of it, that was the actual scandal of Watergate.) Did he have more than personal gain as a motive? Even if, as has been reported, he was unhappy about missing a promotion, it's also been reported that he was unhappy about the subversion of the FBI for political purposes. I'd say that preservation of justice qualifies as a larger motive. Go back to the cause. Seems to me that history has vindicated him on that one. Are there any serious historians who question whether Nixon & Cronies were misusing the government for their own ends? I'll admit my bias here: I'm a reporter. And Watergate is the story where reporters are big heroes. So you might think my colleagues would be on one mind about the most famous secret source in the history of journalism. But if you thought that, you'd be wrong. Even here in the DMN newsroom, we've had a feisty discussion or two about how history will remember Mr. Felt. [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] ------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Sponsor --------------------~--> Give underprivileged students the materials they need to learn. Bring education to life by funding a specific classroom project. http://us.click.yahoo.com/FHLuJD/_WnJAA/cUmLAA/TySplB/TM --------------------------------------------------------------------~-> -------------------------- Want to discuss this topic? Head on over to our discussion list, [EMAIL PROTECTED] -------------------------- Brooks Isoldi, editor [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://www.intellnet.org Post message: osint@yahoogroups.com Subscribe: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Unsubscribe: [EMAIL PROTECTED] *** FAIR USE NOTICE. This message contains copyrighted material whose use has not been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. OSINT, as a part of The Intelligence Network, is making it available without profit to OSINT YahooGroups members who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information in their efforts to advance the understanding of intelligence and law enforcement organizations, their activities, methods, techniques, human rights, civil liberties, social justice and other intelligence related issues, for non-profit research and educational purposes only. We believe that this constitutes a 'fair use' of the copyrighted material as provided for in section 107 of the U.S. Copyright Law. If you wish to use this copyrighted material for purposes of your own that go beyond 'fair use,' you must obtain permission from the copyright owner. For more information go to: http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/osint/ <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
