Ten Most Courageous People of 2009

All sorts of people do big and small courageous acts all the time (my wife for putting up with me). Stop and notice them. Here’s ten people (& groups) who were courageous in 2009

1. Sara Williams and all the other cancer and severely diseased people are at the top of my list. Sara is my mom who in just a course of a few weeks learned she had terminal brain cancer and then underwent brain surgery at Mayo Clinic. I’m happy to say the operation went better than everyone, including the doctors, expected.

2. Chesley Sullenberger is the US Airways pilot who successfully performed a water landing in the Hudson River near New York City. Everyone on the plane survived. True to his nature and duty Sullenberger was the last one out of the ditched aircraft.

3. Barrack Obama‘s Noble Prize may not have been deserved but his Noble Prize acceptance speech was a great act of truth and courage…

And yet I would be remiss if I did not acknowledge the considerable controversy that your generous decision has generated. In part, this is because I am at the beginning, and not the end, of my labors on the world stage. Compared to some of the giants of history who have received this prize – Schweitzer and King; Marshall and Mandela – my accomplishments are slight…

For make no mistake: evil does exist in the world. A non-violent movement could not have halted Hitler’s armies. Negotiations cannot convince al Qaeda’s leaders to lay down their arms. To say that force is sometimes necessary is not a call to cynicism – it is a recognition of history; the imperfections of man and the limits of reason.

4. All the men and women in American military, police, fire, and emergency uniforms deserved recognition for their daily acts of courage. Sure, it’s their “job” but it didn’t have to be.

5. All the husbands and wives who made hard marriages work in 2009 deserve thumbs up. Yes, some marriages must fail; it’s often better, but many marriages fail because one or both spouse is just too prideful and selfish to make it work. It takes two people to make a successful marriage, it only takes one to make a marriage fail

6. George W. Bush gets a spot on my list for the past eight years as President and his gracious handing off the baton to Obama. Bush may not have been a great President but he was a good leader. Bad leaders are leaders who make no decisions. Bush was pounded by some flak he deserved and a lot he didn’t deserve. Any man (or eventual woman) who makes it to President of the United States is courageous.

7. Captain Richard Phillips and the crew of the cargo ship Maersk Alabama performed numerous acts of courage during the four day piracy episode off the coast of Somalia. The captain gave himself up as hostage to save his crew and his crew regained control of their ship from the pirates in order to save their captain.

Phillips was rescued when Navy Seals killed three pirates that were holding him captive in a small boat. Watch for a movie to be made about this.

8. Sarah Palin has the guts to use her talent and good fortune to try and change America beginning with her own state of Alaska. Her greatest act of courage and conviction was & is her dedication to her Down-Syndrome child.

9. Sister Mary Scullion has served Philadelphia’s homeless population for over 30 years. When Bon Jovi told Time Magazine that Sister Mary was a nun “who swears and spits”, Sister Mary commented “I do not spit.

10. The millions of volunteers across the country deserve thought for their work with at-risk-children, sick children, drug addicts, alcoholics, and all the other “faceless” people who grace our nation and world.

Do something for other people and yourself; serve someone.