Show me a hero

I have been watching the HBO series, Show me a hero.  It has allowed me to explore the definition of a hero.  The one that I have found to be the best version of a hero is a person of distinguished courage or ability, admired for brave deeds and noble qualities.  I realized that my heroes today and in the past have always been young people.

The many unknown faces and names of the civil rights movement were college age students.  Now we have the young unsung heroes of the #blacklivesmatter movement.  Can you name at least five other folks that were apart of the civil rights movement besides Martin Luther King Jr. and Rosa Parks.  The #sayhername movement wants me to say more names, names that others may not know.

What is the ability that young people have to question ethics, and strategize for peaceful outcomes? What is it about young people that keeps innovation and community present?  I wonder if I was a college student or slightly older during the civil rights era and/or now if I would be entrenched in either movements.  I wonder if our unattachments to certain beliefs and inexperience in younger age makes it easier to act hero like.  Is it that we actually believe in more possibilities?

As we get older and move toward certain ways of doing things, does this get in the way of being a hero?  Does it get in the way of our lives period? Of course, heroes come in all shapes, sizes, shades and ages.  Society just seems to highlight those of a certain age.  Wisdom and experience speak volumes for valued contributions from individuals.