''If I sleep for an hour, 30 people will die.''

[Leigha]

Just thought I'd share an article I ran across, with an interesting video about a remarkable man named Adolfo Kaminsky. 

As a teenager, Adolfo Kaminsky saved thousands of lives by forging passports to help children flee the Nazis. He spent his life helping others escape atrocities around the world. 

http://www.nytimes.com/2016/10/02/opinio...l-die.html

[Secular Sanity]

That was good, Wegs.  
Thanks!

Can I ask you something?  What’s the difference between altruism and heroism?  Is it the element of risk?  Do you think that what he did was altruistic or heroic?

[Leigha]

Glad you liked it

I think what he did was both altruistic and heroic; they are similar and different. When we think of heroes, we think of people doing courageous, selfless acts for the betterment of others, despite the risks and dangers that might be associated with those acts. The same can be said about altruism also, even though some feel that no one is entirely altruistic, meaning that there is always some reward that people reap for helping others - even if that reward is personal gratification. But, personal gratification isn't the driver of why people perform selfless acts of kindness. It certainly didn't seem like Kaminsky was motivated by that.

So, we may think of him as a hero (I do) but, I don't think he'd want to be called a hero. I've often noted that people like him who are altruistic, don't like being given a lofty title for what they feel is something anyone would have done in their shoes, given those same circumstances.