Abigail Disney- "Don't be a hero"

What stood out to me the most from Abigail Disney's convocation address at Lawrence University was her emphasis on the point that one should not try to be a hero, but rather should work together with others in order to really get things done. She said that in books and films, "the hero always ends up dying in the end." While I don't know that this is entirely true, I do agree that resolutions are best made when you find a group with similar interests and combine your forces.

It was really amazing hearing about the women in Liberia who were so dedicated to achieving peace who went to such great measures, always nonviolently. This got me thinking about the famous nonviolent movements that have gone on in the 20th century. It was refreshing to hear about these women in Liberia, because I tend to feel like people (at least in the United States) nowadays are so removed from the things that in the past would have caused an uproar. Things have definitely changed a lot, some for the better and some for the worse. I wish that people could be passionate enough about the things going on around them to be able to make a stand together and fight for something. It's true that some people do this, and I know that it might seem hypocritical me saying this but not really doing anything about it...

I guess I don't really have a solution right now (I don't think it's that easy though...) but the point of the rambly rant is that it makes me somewhat reassured to know that there are groups of people somewhere working together and actually making a change. These women were almost completely under the radar until Disney and her team made a film (Pray the Devil Back to Hellabout it, so it gives me hope that there are other people out there too who are achieving amazing things behind the scenes.