Vicki Soto Heroism

It was a typical Friday morning—and let’s not kid ourselves, most teachers enjoy Fridays. But this day would be different for first-grade teacher Vicki Soto. When a gunman entered Sandy Hook Elementary, killing twenty-six people, Vicki threw herself in front of her students, while many of her other pupils had already been hidden in a nearby bathroom. And while we mourn the deaths of those women and children who perished, we can see true heroism in what Vicki Soto and others showed on that tragic day. Though we’ve lately lived through the scandals of the Catholic Church and Major League Baseball, the unmasking of megaministers and Wall Street Titans, and the pratfalls of John Edwards and Tiger Woods, our serial susceptibility to bogus

Americans love those people who are greatly skilled and are unique in their abilities—similar to the motto in the Olympics: Swifter, Higher, Stronger. Whether it’s speaking better than others, winning the Super Bowl, or in the case of Brent Musberger, acknowledging a beautiful woman fifty years younger than himself, we admire those who have superb abilities. William Rhoden acknowledged this idea in his October 12, 2012 New York Times article when he wrote that it is the essence of a hero to be, “unique and therefore inimitable.” And it is this slippery slope in which we surrender our self-respect for our self-interest in those who have talents that we can only desire. So, we give-in to these desires and put those with unique abilities on

Consequently, the world of indulgence and self-entitlement lead people of power into a society in which rules have been suspended for them. Larry Josephs, a professor of psychology at Adelphi University places the blame on a phenomenon he calls the Caligula Effect in his May 17, 2011, Time magazine article. Much like the Roman leader, Caligula, who was also a world-class monster, a combination of narcissism, Machiavellianism, and psychopathy all play roles in this entitlement of these so-called heroes. Therefore, many of these individuals feel as though any act of behaving badly will merely be overlooked or covered up. This effect manifests itself from debauchery to blood doping; from Ponzi schemes to molestation; and when these ruthless acts disregard integrity, all of us are impacted—not merely Bill Clinton and Barry