Letters
Better to die a hero than a coward
Saving a life is always a noble gesture other than an act of foolishness
A fortnight ago at dawn, he also rushed to his death.
After word going around about his death, many people started blaming him for his death starting with his wife who claimed that she had begged him not go, a plea he ignored.
Looking at this man’s death, I was forced to wonder why God usually takes a life of a person who has been brave enough to save another person’s life. When I asked a close friend about it, the answer he gave me sounded insensitive.
He said that the reason why people who do heroic acts to save others normally die is because they act foolishly. Whenever they face danger, they never give themselves a chance to think. What they always do is to rush to save a life where they end up losing their own life. In other words they are fools who never think of themselves before they go out to save a life.
When I heard his words, I came to agree that he had a point. But does that justify us to call people who have risked their lives to save others fools just because they have lost their lives while at it. The mere fact that they sacrificed their lives to save others is a sign to indicate that they are special beings who deserve to be awarded.
How many people can do what that young man did? Most of us whenever we hear a scream for help, we turn a blind eye, too scared to offer any help. But just imagine if it was you calling for help, wouldn’t you want to be saved?
I believe this is what most heroes imagine when they are saving others. It is because they are empathetic that they become self sacrificing but not because they are fools.
Besides that, death is a part of life however careful one might be. We all shall die one day. It’s the when and where that we don’t know. When death comes calling, there is no escape from it.
Even if that man had listened to his wife and stayed at home instead of offering help to his neighbours, he would still have died. How? I don’t know. But as believers, we take it that that was his destiny. And what eases our pain for his loss is that he died a hero, performing a good deed and responding to God’s call of loving our neighbouring.
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