Angel Cordero, unsung hero. And in good company.

Apparently a Cleveland man named Angel Cordero is every bit as deserving of accolades in the rescue of the three kidnapping victims of Ariel Castro [of alleged kidnapper and rapist Ariel Castro, that is. Reflect on this case the next time someone puffs themselves up to reprimand you for a missing “alleged” and lectures you about how the accused are “innocent until proven guilty.” Yes, we know—and that means we can’t lock them up and throw away the key until they have had a fair trial and been officially proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in the judgment of a jury. It does not mean,  in a situation where there is literally no possible interpretation of the facts that would not end with the conclusion that the man who owns the house where three women have been kept prisoner for ten years and who have told interviewers that he beat them, starved them and raped them, that to state the obvious is some kind of human rights violation. By the way, O.J. is guilty too.] as the more colorful, more publicized–and more ridiculed—Charles Ramsey.

I want Cordero to receive the credit and admiration he deserves. I don’t want him to feel bitter and unappreciated. If the media, public and popular culture is inclined to bestow its goodies on the heroes of this horrible story, I hope he gets his fair share. Still, I also hope that he would be sufficiently large of soul and solid of values to adopt the attitude that what is important is that the women were rescued, and not who gets credit for it, now or in the future.

Harry Truman is usually credited with one of my favorite quotes, but all he did was dust off and rephrase in Harry-speak what was written by Charles Edward Montague (1867-1928), an English novelist and essayist: “There is no limit to what a man can do so long as he does not care a straw who gets the credit for it.”* I have tried to live by this philosophy myself, and believe me, it’s hard. It requires generously and graciously giving credit to those who should hand it right back, but seldom do. It means having to grit one’s teeth as someone else takes bows for something you did, but modestly chose not to crow about. In today’s cash-in culture, avoiding the temptation to fight for every bit of credit for a high-profile accomplishment is especially hard to resist, because credit can be transformed into fame, stardom, interviews, book deals, riches and, one may dream, immortality.

My advice, to Angel and anyone else faced with having to fight for hero points, is the same that Prof. Henry Jones, Sr. gave to his head-strong son, Indiana when he was reaching for the Holy Grail. “Let it go.” The opportunities life throws at us to do good and beneficial things for our fellow human beings arrive without warning or design, and all we should hope for is the presence of mind, skill, courage and determination to take full advantage of them, with our desired reward being nothing more than the personal satisfaction of  knowing that our life has made a positive impact on our surroundings. Credit, fame, and all the other fickle pleasures that may or may not come our way as well should be treated as the random and unpredictable contingencies they are, and never have the effect of diminishing our own satisfaction at doing the right thing.

I know, from personal experience, that this is difficult; indeed I know that for human beings, it may sometimes be impossible. It is still, I think, how a real hero should feel, if a real here he is.

* Montague, ironically, is a victim of the injustice of misplaced credit. Harry’s version gets most of the references, and even Truman gets stiffed, as some sources credit John Wooden, who paraphrased Harry, who paraphrased Montague. But as long as the wisdom of the quotes does some good, you guys don’t care, right?

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Pointer: Alexander Cheezem

Facts and Graphic: Slate

Ethics Alarms attempts to give proper attribution and credit to all sources of facts, analysis and other assistance that go into its blog posts. If you are aware of one I missed, or believe your own work was used in any way without proper attribution, please contact me, Jack Marshall, at  jamproethics@verizon.net.