The World Needs More Heroes

I’ve blogged about Phil Zimbardo’s work a number of times. His newest TED talk shares his goals and approach for creating more heroes through the Heroic Imagination Project (on whose board of advisors I’m proud to sit). Take a look at Phil’s brief talk, and consider what you can do in your own life not only to be an ordinary hero yourself, but to promote ordinary heroism among others.

I found the stark contrast between the two juxtaposed slides of Hitler, arm raised, standing above his followers, and Gandhi, arm similarly raised, standing among his, both unsettling and profoundly provocative and thought-provoking. Since, as Zimbardo argues and has provided evidence for throughout his distinguished career in social psychology (see the Stanford Prison Experiment), circumstance is a primary factor in our behavior, we are compelled to create the circumstances that will promote ordinary heroism.

That is our great task. And our great opportunity.

For a world populated by ordinary heroes,

Zoe Weil, President Institute for Humane Education
Author of Most Good, Least Harm, Above All, Be Kind: Raising a Humane Child in Challenging Times and Claude and Medea, Moonbeam gold medal award winner for juvenile fiction about middle school ordinary heroes

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