I don’t know if it’s possible to honestly assess when one would sacrifice themselves. And while odd and morbid, I’ve actually thought about this type of thing quite a bit. [A little side-note, once during Gospel Choir practice, a little girl got her (head, leg, arm, limb, whatever) caught in a folding chair in that psych auditorium a few rows away-- so she started screaming, and I just kind of stood there looking at her. And that inability to act swiftly and meaningfully *really* bugged me; it actually changed the way I think to a certain extent-- it’s almost like I’ve created situational mental scripts in advance, so that they can be executed without thought.] So I’ve actually created any number of mental scripts (or course of actions) to any variety of morbid situations; and I think this new presence-of-mind has allowed me to react more effectively.

But back to my point, I’m not sure we can say with any kind of validity what we’d do before it all goes down, just as Peter denied Jesus in a repeated fashion. And while I very much like to think (and honestly believe) that I’d sacrifice myself for family, friends, or strangers on the street without hesitation-- I’m not sure that one can say.

But here’s another story with a point-- A few years back, when I was flying all over for job interviews, there was a time when I was home 5 days out of an entire month. So I was standing at some magazine rack at O’hare (IIRC) reading the news headlines. It was negative story lines on Iraq-- one after another. And I muttered something to myself, and found that the 4 or 5 other (stranger) businessmen all verbally replied in agreement to (whatever it was that I had said). (Likely to have been something about the negative / inaccurate media portrayal of the situation.) And that was a comforting moment, as I realized that I was not the only one—and that this random incident is likely to be more representative of America… certainly more so than any big media outlet would ever let on…

So my point is—I am not unique. And I certainly think and believe that I’d sacrifice myself without thought for any number of persons, strangers, or situations. So if the two prior tenets are true, then it can only be assumed that others feel the same way. I prefer to believe that Americans have not lost their uniqueness nor exceptionalism. (Undoubtedly, this does not apply to all-- but this has always been the case.) I know that Scott discussed more, but I really don't have the time for it at this present moment.

P.S. --Scott-- Gavin is alright by me. Although I still maintain that you can't properly name a child without seeing them first...
P.P.S. I'm really thinking about teaching a history seminar on WWII... Thoughts?